Indigenous
by spicygenou
Summary: Chiharu became a captive to save her village from an evil spirit and is herself saved years later by Mayuri Kurotsuchi. She now must catch up on one and a half millenia of change and rediscover the world. UkitakeXOC
1. Chapter 1

For the past 1500 years or so, Chiharu had given up all hope of being saved from her captor. She wasn't quite sure how one could live this long, back in her simple village, the Elder was about 80 years old and verging on death. She sighed, remembering her village for the millionth time since she was forced to leave it. Now she was stuck with him, or rather it, till she died, which she assumed would be never. She didn't know where they were, but she figured that the same rules that applied back home didn't apply here-wherever here was. Her parents had named her properly, "one thousand springs", as a blessing for a long life. They probably never would have guessed that she would live through over a thousand springs. She knew her old family was all dead by now, but she couldn't help hoping that one day they would come save her. Until now that is. She knew hoping was fruitless, and that she would be stuck here forever.

"Love? I would appreciate it if you closed the curtains," asked a weak voice from within a simple cottage. Her captor, Nobu, too had grown old since he first terrorized her village, so she now had to handle the most simple of tasks. After closing the curtains she tried to leave, but he requested her to come near. He was repulsive, a monster with a ghastly white mask. His body was like a huge spider creature, but it now lay crippled on the floor. He had declared his love for Chiharu long ago and claimed her as his own, but fortunately he recognized her lack of love for him and never tried to take advantage of her. Instead she became his slave for life.

"Yes, master?" she asked as she approached him.

He looked at her then said, "Nothing. I just wanted to see your face one last time."

"Are you dying?"

"Yes, slowly but surely. Don't worry though, if I die, since you are chained to me by my Kido, you will die too. So before I pass, I will kill you too."

She was sad, she thought he would set her free finally, but she thought death would be better than spending an eternity in this cottage, for she wouldn't know where to escape.

"Alright, I understand," and she went outside and sat in the garden. For the first time in a few centuries, she poured her heart out through tears. It's finally over, she thought, but are these tears of joy? Or sadness?

After several minutes had passed, Chiharu was sniffling on the ground. Then, she sensed a strong presence. When she first met Nobu, there was a similar pressure, but nowhere near as strong as this. It felt a little far out, too far for her to investigate without alerting her master by tugging the invisible chain he tied around her. It faded, causing her to cry out-she was hoping her savior might finally come. The force must have heard her for it turned around and approached rather quickly. From the trees came a figure. It was a man with short, spiky blue hair and amber eyes set in a fierce, tan face. He wore a black outfit with a white sleeveless robe over it. She smiled at the first human she had seen in a long, long time. She ran to the man and greeted him with joy.

"Hello! Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Hm. I am Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. And I am here for... an ingredient... for an experiment. Yes, that's it. Girl, be useful: have you seen an orange bush that produces a sweet fragrance around here?"

"Why, yes. I can take you there, but I can't go all the way because of this chain." She motioned to the air around her waist. Though she couldn't see it, the man could make out a wavering chain of reatsu around her.

Hm, he thought, what could be the source of this.

"Are you some type of warrior? Or a monster like Nobu?"

"I suppose I'm a bit of both. Who is Nobu?"

"My master, he lives in that cottage," she pointed to the crude shack. "He is an awful creature, black, shaped like a spider, with this skull-like mask over his face. But he is dying, and thus, since we are bound, I must die too." She frowned.

Mayuri spoke up, "You are slave to a Hollow? And he hasn't eaten you yet? Strange. You have more reiatsu than an average person." He continued thinking aloud. Then, "Well? Will you take me to that bush?"

"Oh! Sure." She led the way through the well-known forest and finally stopped. She motioned further forward and said, "I can't go any further, but if you continue, you'll find it."

"Here's the thing, the bush is, well, I'm allergic to it, which is why I'm here, to make a cure for my obnoxious allergies, so I need you to pick me a few leaves, then I'll be on my way."

"Well, I'd love to help, but if I move past my boundaries, Nobu will wake up, and... I don't want to think of what might happen. But, must you leave? I haven't seen a human in over a millenium! Can't you stay?" she begged, on the verge of crying.

Mayuri didn't know how to treat the emotional girl, but he was moved by her near-tears to say, "No, now get me those leaves!" He pulled out his sword and she cringed at the familiar weapon wielded by the strongest warriors of her village. He swung and cut the chain. She could feel the release immediately, and she also felt a spike in Nobu's pressure. It rushed towards them.

"Uh oh. Nobu's mad."

"I can beat him in one hit. He is weak." Even though she had feared Nobu her whole life, she knew this mysterious man could do as he said judging by his even stronger pressure. Soon Nobu came into view.

"Chiharu, what are you doing with this soul-reaper?" he demanded.

Soul-reaper? she thought, What is that?

"Get away from my love!" Nobu charged at Mayuri, wailing a high-pitched shrill. Mayuri raised his sword and pierced the mask. There was a bright light as the mask cracked and Nobu screamed out in defeat, "Forgive me, Chiharu!" Then he was gone.

"Whoa." Chiharu muttered, wordless. She fell to her knees and began to cry.

"Oh, God, don't tell me you loved the Hollow?" Mayuri questioned. But then her cry turned to hysterical laughter and she leapt up and hugged Mayuri.

"Thank you so much! I am free, finally! If I get you your leaves, please, take me with you! I need to get away from here at last!"

Mayuri pushed her away and grunted, "Fine, maybe I can use you as a test subject. And I have questions about you and... Nobu."

She nodded and ran toward the bush with happiness and relief in her step. Mayuri sighed, I hate her already, he thought.

Soon, with leaves in hand, they headed to what Mayuri called his home. Chiharu had been calling him that for awhile, and he kept yelling at her to call her "Kurotsuchi-taichou".

"You are so slow, girl!" he yelled in impatience at her pace. He threw her over her shoulder and flash-stepped to the Sereitei. He dropped her and she let out an oof. She held her head to numb the confusion and after a few seconds, she stood, but she swayed.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"A flash-step, girl, now come with me."

He walked away quickly and she followed him. There were a few others there dressed like Mayuri, minus his white robe. They kept staring at her and whispering, making her very self-conscious, not about her beauty-as she had been considered the beauty of her village with her petit frame and rare, smooth, orange hair-but about her clothes. Her village clothes had become ruined over the years, so she was forced to make new ones. Nobu killed a bear for her in the forest and she skinned the animal to make an outfit similar to her old ones. The bear's fur made a skirt for her and a matching one-shouldered top that covered her chest. She didn't like the lack of cover of the outfit, but Nobu made her wear it in exchange for killing the beast. She didn't have shoes for her feet, but they had grown so calloused that she had no need for foot-covering. It also helped her hunt stealthily, a beneficial skill seeing as Nobu didn't understand the fact that humans had to eat so he did not provide food for her. She had leather strips wrapped around her left ankle and calf and her right wrist and forearm, another fashion preference of Nobu, with tiny bones hanging along the cords in various places. She was embarrassed by her primitive looking outfit as she compared herself to the other women. She got many curious glances from men especially.

"Mayuri, are we there yet?" she whispered.

"Shut up, girl. I'm thinking." He wasn't really, but he wanted the girl to shut up. Soon they arrived in front of a big square building.

"Where are we?"

"A captain's meeting, and you're coming with me." she nodded in compliance as he led her down a hallway and into a brightly lit room. There were 12 other men and women all dressed alike (well, expect for one man who also wore a pink cloak), ranging in appearance, age, height, etc. drastically. They looked up when Mayuri entered.

The pink man spoke up, "Well, Kurotsuchi, nice of you to finally join us, and as your normal self for once. But, who is this scantily clad young lady of yours?"

Chiharu was intimidated by all the powerful people, their pressures were palpable and she hid behind the only person she knew, Mayuri.

"This is a girl I found while gathering ingredients for an experiment. She is... an interesting case that revealed a new side of Hollows."

"What do you mean?" asked a very old man, who seemed to be the one in charge.

"Well, maybe I should let her tell you." He shoved Chiharu forward and she faced the many people with fear evident in her wide eyes.

"Well? Questioned the old man."

"Speak, girl!" Mayuri ordered.

She gulped and stuttered a little.

"The poor girl, she's absolutely frightened." noted a man with long white hair. She looked up at him and he flashed her a reassuring smile. She felt very trusting of the man she had never met and stood taller. She regained her voice and spoke, loud and with her normal confidence.

"My name is Chiharu, of the first Ainu clan to come to the island called Japan." 


	2. Chapter 2

"My forefathers built the ships used to sail from the mainland to the island and settled a village near a river. We call the river Katsujinken, for like a sword piercing through the darkness, it gave life to my people. The village is called Zoutou to remind us that it was a gift from the gods. After many years, Zoutou was thriving. There were no other peoples to war with and we were at peace, but we still trained our men and even women to be warriors who would scout out the land. One particular warrior had strange powers and he exerted a force, much like you people, yet much more faint. There were odd creatures with white masks that would attack Zoutou. At first we could not see them and many thought the man was insane as he swung his sword at the air, but we saw the damage they did and the people they killed and soon we saw them physically too and he was a hero. The evil spirits killed many people and spoke of eating their souls, and we were scared, but our warriors discovered how to kill them.

"One day, a much stronger monster came called Nobu. He was like a bug with eight legs and he was taller than our largest men. He did not kill as many of us, only one or so a day, but our warriors could not handle his strength. He toyed with us a lot and made bargains such as promising the women he would leave if we drowned all the men, whilst telling the men he would leave if they drowned all the women. We refused to meet his demands so he stayed. My father, the clan leader who spoke directly with the Elders who knew all and received their knowledge from the gods decided to make a deal with Nobu: a virgin sacrifice. Nobu liked this, and my father presented all the unmarried women of Zoutou besides me, but Nobu was unsatisfied with everyone. My father wanted to protect me so he hid me, but I felt Nobu's pressure increase, and I knew he would kill everyone if he didn't get his sacrifice. So I ran from my hiding place and Nobu saw me. He was pleased with me, and instead of killing me, he took me away from the island. I knew we were no longer in the same place as the rest of the world. I became his slave, and I wished he would have killed me. He always claimed that he loved me, so he did not eat me. After many years, I gave up hope of being rescued, but then Mayuri came and freed me from a chain Nobu had on me and then he killed Nobu.

"Nobu was different from the other creatures. He proclaimed love for me, yet I had never seen the other monsters like anything other than souls for food and killing our strongest warriors, or even show emotions. But, forgive me, I have so many questions. I am very confused. I do not know if my family is alive and I am just lost. Please, I must know if I have fallen into a worst fate than being a slave to a monster by coming here?" she finished her story and the captains had many different looks, some of pity, some of confusion and curiosity, and some of boredom.

The old man spoke, "Kurotsuchi, why did you free this woman exactly?"

"I needed her to gather leaves for me because there would've been negative consequences if I had touched the bush, so I had her do it for me. They were a crucial ingredient for an important experiment."

"I see. Before you killed Nobu, did you see any sign of feelings from the Hollow toward Chiharu?"

"Ya, he yelled at me to stay away from 'his love' then when he died, he yelled, 'forgive me, my love'. The reason I think this is interesting is as the girl said: Hollows shouldn't show emotion, but this one showed genuine love for this girl and even restrained from satisfying its bloodlust and eating her. We now know about a new side to Hollows, albeit a side that is common to very few, but we could use any information to help us in our war against them."

"Hm. I see your point. Tell me, Chiharu, what was your relationship with Nobu?"

"Well, I was his slave and I did various tasks like cleaning. I mainly sat around a lot because he said that he enjoyed my presence."

"Was your relationship... sexual?" This piqued some of the bored captains' interests.

"I'm sorry, I am unfamiliar with your last word," stated Chiharu in response to the intrusive question.

"Did you sleep with Nobu."

She was still confused at the terms he was using, so she said, "Do you mean, at the same time? I guess we did, but he stayed in his house and I stayed outside..." Some of the captains chuckled at the girl's confusion.

"No, no, no." the old man debated how to ask this, then said, "Did you go to bed with Nobu, as husband and wife?"

Chiharu turned a very deep red, "Forgive me sir, but I was his slave, not wife, thus I would never engage in such rituals! And, what kind of world have I entered in which monsters and humans have such unnatural relations! Well, next I suppose you shall tell me it is okay now for a woman to marry another female or for men to bed their sisters!" She was visibly flustered and embarrassed, and the captains who were holding in laughter couldn't hold back anymore. This girl has a lot of catching up to do, was a common thought among them.

"Alright, I'm sorry to insult, but your ways are very different from ours. Now to answer your question, I'm sure you are confused and scared, but I assure you that life here will be hard, but better than your previous one. Life has changed in these past years, about 1500 if my historical resources match up with your story. Your tribe and village are long gone, but while you've been gone, they've grown into a thriving nation called Japan. I believe it was your bravery and sacrifice that saved your tribe and created the country of Japan. Millions of people owe their lives to you." He obviously said the right words, as the girl looked down and shed some tears, but looked back up with a smile.

She sniffed, then said, "Thank you for your kind words. I understand that I have a lot to learn about this New World, but I shall try my best to do so. But, you men and women have saved my life and I enquire by what I shall call my saviors?"

"Right, introductions. I am Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai, the soitaichou of the Gotei 13 and taichou of division 1. The Gotei 13 has 13 divisions of shinigami who are basically powerful protectors of souls." He looked at a woman who sat next to him, implying that it was her turn.

"I am Soi Fon, taichou of the 2nd division and leader of the Stealth Forces as well," stated a pragmatic woman who had harsh eyes and a boyish face.

"Hiya, cutie. I'm Ichimaru Gin, 3rd division taichou. Pleased to meet ya. And you have nothing to be scared of, we don't bite," said a man with silver hair and creepy, fake smile, waving.

A kind woman with an oddly braided hairstyle spoke next, "I am Retsu Unohana, the taichou of the 4th division, or the medical and supply unit." She smiled warmly.

"And I am the taichou of the 5th division, Sosuke Aizen," spoke a man with wavy brown hair and a small black cover in front of his eyes. He seemed kind, like a father, and Chiharu had an uncanny instinct to trust him.

"I am Byakuya Kuchiki, taichou of the 6th division," stated a formal looking man who had several accessories to his robes. _He seems important_, thought Chiharu.

Next a huge man with a helmet spoke, "I am Komamura Sajin, the 7th division's taichou."

The pink man finally introduced himself, "Hello, pretty lady. I am Shunsui Kyoraku, taichou of the 8th division." He too seemed kind, yet Chiharu didn't really like the way he stared at her.

A man who had skin darker than any she had seen before and who also wore eye covers spoke up, "I am Tousen Kaname, taichou of the 9th division." The way he stared blankly reminded Chiharu of one of the Elders who lost her sight as she aged.

A boy smaller than her with gravity-defying white hair and electric eyes like the sky said, "I am Toushiro Hitsugaya, taichou of the 10th division." She was unaccustomed to such a diversity in the leaders, male and female, young and old, kind and downright scary, but these were not her ways, so she did not question them.

Next, the largest, creepiest, spikiest man spoke, "I am Zaraki Kenpachi, the taichou of the 11th division, the toughest division, and I am also the toughest fighter." He smiled a smile full of bloodlust that made Chiharu shiver. He reminded her of the monsters back at her village.

Then she turned around when Mayuri spoke, "You know me, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Kurotsuchi-taichou to you, girl. I'm the captain of the 12th division which is also the scientific research and development divison."

The last taichou, the white haired man whose smile gave Chiharu the strength to give her speech, now spoke, "I am Jushiro Ukitake, the taichou of the 13th division. It's nice to meet you." He gave another smile which invoked a strange feeling in Chiharu that she couldn't quite understand.

"It is my pleasure to have met you all," Chiharu bowed respectfully, unsure of whether or not they were her superiors, she decided to play it safe and assume they were all her superiors; it was plain to see that they were all much stronger than her. "Forgive my next question, but you all gave multiple names, by which shall I call you?"

Yamamoto answered, "I'm sure you are unaware of the honorifics system we use, so just call us by whatever name you can remember, if you can remember any after all the names you were just told." He then addressed the captains, "I have decided that Chiharu will stay in the Sereitei. She may become a soul reaper, for she has some reiatsu, and if she ever addresses you without the proper title, don't be offended, for she is new to all this. Treat her with respect, for she is, after all, the savior of Japan. Since Kurotsuchi has shown such an interest in her, you will look after her. Teach her our ways and don't kill her."

Mayuri grumbled but eventually said an audible "Fine".

"Good! Now that this is settled, we can begin the actual meeting. Any significant reports?" The captains shook their heads. "Alright. Meeting adjourned." They stood and most disappeared before Chiharu's very eyes, while the huge man who smelled of blood walked out. A few stayed though, namely the man who was fatherly, the pink man, the smiling man, and the weird braid woman. Mayuri also stayed, but he didn't seem happy about it.

"Hello," spoke the man with brown hair, "Let me personally welcome you to the Sereitei." He smiled and Chiharu smiled back.

"I thank you for your kindness," she flushed, "Um, Sosuke, was it?" she strained through all the names she had just heard. He laughed, and she feared that she had gotten his name wrong, but he was just laughing at the lack of formality, but he was far from angry.

"Yes, that's fine. Well, I must be going now. Goodbye." Then he too disappeared.

"And you are… Retsu?" Chiharu asked the other woman.

"Yes, child. I too must welcome you. I hope you enjoy it here." Chiharu bowed and thanked Retsu then the woman vanished into thin air.

"You can call me Shunsui-kun, my sweet," said the pink man, he kissed her hand and she was unsure of how to treat this display of affection. In Zoutou, men kissed women they weren't married to, but normally it was when the two were about to be wed or betrothed. Either way she didn't like it and she pulled away her hand.

"I would respect if you didn't kiss me further," she added, "Shunsui…kun." The "kun" sounded childish and foreign, but it was his preferred title, so she gave it to him.

He was happy when she added the "kun", so smiling he said, "Alright, alright. Just give it time—soon she won't be able to resist me." With a wink, he too left.

"Hello Jushiro. Do you too wish for this 'kun' title. What is this, a title of respect?"

Jushiro held in a laugh, "Not exactly. Just Jushiro's fine, if you can remember it. 'Kun'… well… just don't use it for my friend, Shunsui." He also left smiling.

Chiharu turned to Mayuri. "So, shall we leave now too?"

"Hmph." He threw her over his shoulder and then "flash-stepped" away.

She was still disoriented by the trip as they entered a building. "This is my house. My room." He pointed to a door at the end of the hall. "And yours," she entered the room. It was not very large, but it was nicer than any space she had ever had. There were four walls, with an opening through which she could see outside across from the door and another door that revealed a mini-room next to the entrance.

She smiled, "Thank you very much, Mayuri."

"Whatever. And it's Kurotsuchi-taichou to you. Do you still have those leaves?" Chiharu reached into a small pocket in her skirt and pulled out several folded leaves. Mayuri put on a glove and snatched the leaves away. "I'll be in my lab," he continued, "You can walk around I guess as it is still pretty early. Talk to people but don't do anything stupid." He vanished, most likely to this "lab" of his.

After some inner debate, Chiharu decided to tour this Sereitei. The quickest way outside was through the small opening in her room, but she soon discovered that a force prevented her from going through. _Strange, _she thought. _Very strange indeed._ She pushed but the invisible surface wouldn't budge. The thing was like a mini mirage maker, for at certain angles, she could see distorted reflections of herself. She gave up on forcing her way through, so she left her room through the door and tried to remember which way Mayuri—er, Kurotsuchi-taichou had brought her.

She managed to navigate her way quickly and was now outside. No one had seen her yet, and she was glad of it. She assumed that if another person tried to tell her their name, she'd explode. Chiharu soon got lost, as everywhere she went was the monotonous pattern of box-like, white buildings. They appeared much more sound than, yet uglier than as well, the thatch huts she was accustomed to. The sun was now directly overhead and she was hot, but she didn't sweat as she was used to physical exercise as she had been one of the few female warriors in her village. Even though it had been 1500 years since her last spar, she found that her physical state remained consistent and preserved in this world. However, she still had the capability to thirst, so she stopped in front of a—no surprise—boxy, white building. Over the door was written an elegant symbol that looked nothing like the drawings she had ever seen before.

_I wonder where everyone is._ She roamed the deserted halls and soon found a door that looked as if it could be slid, much like the ones in her room. Curious, she slid it but it would not budge. She pushed the other direction and it opened, revealing a spacious room. There were two tables, both with sheets stacked on them, a smaller table, and a soft, wide table. One of the captains from earlier was sitting at the table with the white things, and another person, a woman, was lazing on the soft table. The white-haired captain looked up when the door opened.

"Ever heard of knocking?" he asked irritably. "Oh, it's you. Can I help you?" his voice became less reprimanding when he recognized his guest.

"Hello Toshirou," Chiharu bowed, "I have gotten lost and am rather thirsty. Do you know where I might get some water?"

"Oh! _Toshirou_¸ who is this cute little thing? Are you friends?" asked the blonde, reclining woman.

Toshirou obviously was flustered at the comment and replied, "No, Matsumoto, this is Chiharu, she is a… um… I guess she is a woman who Kurotsuchi found who had been trapped for 1500 years with a Hollow and she is basically responsible for the survival of Japan."

Matsumoto blinked. "But she called you Toshirou. And you didn't get mad! You don't just let anyone call you that, Mr. That's-Hitsugaya-taichou!" she said, mocking his voice at the end.

"Shut up, or I'll make you begin training with Kenpachi!"

Matumoto paled at that comment. "Well that would be scary! But, shouldn't you help out Chiharu? She's still here you know."

Chiharu was indeed still there and she was listening in on the two people's quarrel with interest. Hitsugaya apologized and he got up to get her a glass of water, afraid of what Kurotsuchi and Yamamoto would do if Chiharu wasn't comfortable.

Chiharu bowed, "Hello, my name is Chiharu. May I ask your name?"

The woman grinned, "Well, you're adorable! I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, but you can call me Rangiku, unlike my stuffy captain. I'm the fukutaichou of the tenth division."

"Nice to meet you." Toshirou returned with a small cup of water and handed it to Chiharu. The clear container reminded Chiharu of the thing in her room and she asked them what it was.

Toshirou was surprised at her confusion, "It's a cup."

"Well, I know what a cup is, and water, but why is it clear like this?" She held it above her head, careful not to spill the water, as she examined the light from outside the room being refracted and shining into her eyes.

"Well, it's made of glass. Like this window." He tapped the opening that was just like the one in her room.

"A window? Why do you have that if you can't use it to go outside?"

"It lets in light from the sun and makes rooms and buildings look better and feel more open."

"I see." She lifted the cup to her mouth and drank the water in a few swallows. "What is all that on your table?"

Toshirou sighed, "Paperwork. And this table is called a desk, because it is where a person works. Matsumoto, would you mind teaching Chiharu about everything, especially our vocabulary? I don't think Kurotsuchi will ever take the time to do that for her."

Matsumoto beamed, "Sounds like fun! I'll introduce her to everyone," Chiharu inwardly groaned. "And I'll let you borrow some of my clothes too!" Chiharu was happy when she heard this, and she followed Matsumoto outside, excited for all the new things she would learn.


	3. Chapter 3

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A/N:

**Hello! I would like to thank you for your reviews, and I would just like to say that I will try to update this as much as possible, but I am pretty busy with stuff outside of the computer… actually, I'm just kinda lazy! Haha! But, either way, I will try! Anyway, the summary says this is a love story between Ukitake X OC, but, as you've probably seen, there hasn't been a ton of action going on, but I have a plan! In my head… for me to know, and you to find out! Haha! And, I thought up this story when I was drawing a character, and she ended up in cave clothes, and I thought, **_**Now wouldn't that make for an interesting story?**_ **And then, BAM.** **Haha and to one of my reviewers, I do agree that the time skip is a smidge much, every time I write 1500 years, I'm like, **_**Whoa! A four digit number… yeesh**_**. :-P And, I'm also not a Japanese history expert, but Wikipedia said the Ainus were the first people recorded on the island of Japan (albeit a different date than my 1500 years ago thing), so I'm going with that. So, anyway, ignoring my lack of historical knowledge, let's get on with the story! :-D**

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About an hour after meeting the bubbly woman, Chiharu found herself in a market of sorts. But unlike the ones she'd shopped in for fine pottery, jewelry, or food, this one was huge and indoors, and mainly had clothes, although there were sections with dining ware and brightly lit places full of shiny trinkets. Rangiku called this place a department store.

They were now in Japan, which really was on a separate plane from the Sereitei. Rangiku had to get a false body from a cheerful, blonde man named Urahara for Chiharu was told that most of the people in the spirit world were merely spirits and didn't have physical bodies in the real world, but since Chiharu was originally from the real world, she already had a body. Yet, they could still feel pain, hunger, thirst, and they could even die. The whole concept was very confusing to Chiharu, so she decided not to ask further.

"There are other places that have just clothes, but here you'll learn a lot about other things too! Like this, this is a plate!" She said when they first entered. Chiharu rolled her eyes. _I'm new to this, but I have seen a plate before._ But she wasn't mad at her new tour guide, for she knew that Rangiku was doing her best to teach her about everything in sight, though she wasn't always the most helpful:

"Wow! Did you see that bird? Like a mini airplane!"

"What is an airplane?"

"Oh! Well it's like a big bird!"

or

"What was that?" Chiharu exclaimed as Rangiku had to pull her back out of the road as she almost got hit by a hunk of metal on wheels.

"That was a car!" Rangiku smiled, trying to calm the girl down.

"It was like a flying, evil creature bent on destruction!" she was still flustered.

"Yeah, I guess it is!"

Yet, Chiharu was thankful for the woman's presence, for she was so unaccustomed to the world. Rangiku had loaned her some clothes, just a simple shirt and "jeans" that were very baggy on her. The buxom woman seemed most shocked when she learned that Chiharu didn't even know what a bra was, let alone own one, so Matsumoto bought her one first thing. It was sort of uncomfortable, but she was growing used to it. They stayed in the store until it began to grow dark, but inside the lighting remained constant, which confused Chiharu greatly.

"How long are your days here?" she asked as she held a pile of clothes and Rangiku rifled through some brightly colored rucksacks.

"Twenty-four hours, of course."

"Should it not be dark then?"

"Oh, well I'm sure it is." She started humming to the music that had been playing all over the store, though Chiharu could never find the source.

"Then, how are we still able to see?"

"Oh, well long ago, Thomas Jefferson invented the light bulb, and, well, the rest is history! Or was it Thomas Edison? Tom Hanks? Well either way, they harnessed electricity from charges and they produced portable light in the form of glass light bulbs!" Chiharu understood.

"So they took some of these charges from the sun and placed them in the impenetrable casings of glass? So we can see because of the mini suns! That is ingenius!"

"Attention shoppers, the store is closing in fifteen minutes, so please take your purchases to the check-out. Thank you, and have a great evening."

Chiharu whirled around, looking for the loud, friendly voice that, like the music, came from nowhere. "What was that?" she asked Rangiku.

"The intercom. We'd better buy all of our stuff now!" she grabbed Chiharu by the hand and dragged her to the front, where women all dressed alike stood and regarded these square boxes on tables with interest. Rangiku had called these things computers earlier, and had compared them to super fast brains.

"There's no line there! Let's go!" They stood at one of the tables and the woman there greeted them.

"Hi! Did you find everything alright?"

"Yup!" Rangiku responded.

"No we did not. Remember? You had said you wanted to purchase a 'cerulean v-neck top' and were quite disappointed at the lack of selection."

Rangiku covered her friend's mouth and said, "What are you talking about? I hate cerulean, and I love this store!" she shoved her stack of clothes and Chiharu's at the checker.

Chiharu decided to stay quite when Rangiku had let go of her mouth and watched the woman with a handheld device shoot red beams of light—probably dyed, mini suns, is there anything these people can't do?—at the papers that had been attached to the clothes. When she was trying them on earlier, Chiharu had tried to tear them off, only to be scolded by Rangiku for touching the tags.

After doing that, the woman folded the clothes neatly and put them in large pink bags. "Your total comes to $237 and sixty-three cents."

_237? _Chiharu thought._ That is quite a lot of money, yet Rangiku seems unfazed. They must have a different economy than we did, but of course they would! Yet, they use these hard little papers to pay for everything, and then they just get them right back! They must never run out of money! And I saw metal coins on the street and even green paper money. Very strange._

Finally, they left the store and it was dark outside. And even here, there were mini suns that lit up everything so that one could not even see the stars. Chiharu realized that she had not eaten anything all day. "Rangiku? Could we cook some food perhaps? I don't have any ingredients, but I'm sure we could find something. I am famished."

"Sure! But why cook? We'll just go to a restaurant. There's tons of them, and they're way easier than just cooking food yourself." She started walking towards a brown building with windows all around. People could be seen through them, sitting and laughing with friends. They entered the restaurant and Rangiku asked a nicely dressed man for a table for two. They were seated and handed large papers with symbols on them. Rangiku scanned hers and set it down.

"I think I'll have the Hawaiian Shrimp and Pineapple Salad. What about you?"

Chiharu didn't recognize any of those words as food, so she followed Rangiku's example of looking at the menu. Staring didn't help her make up her mind, so she wasn't sure how Rangiku had discovered her meal of choice so easily.

She hit the menu against the table, "How does one receive enlightenment from this?" Rangiku took it away.

"You read it, sweetie."

"Read?"

Rangiku stared blankly then laughed, "You don't know how to read?"

Chiharu felt embarrassed and insulted, "Well, how can I read these alien symbols?"

"You mean, you had no written language?"

"No."

"Hm. That could be a problem in the future, but for now, let's just order. I'll help you." Rangiku recited the choices and Chiharu decided on ordering a familiar steak and a glass of water.

"This food must take a long time to cook. How long will we be here?"

"I know, this restaurant is so slow! Probably about twenty minutes."

_Twenty minutes to cook a steak? Perhaps they have harnessed the sun's heat to cook as well. Such remarkable ideas!_

As they waited, the women talked, mainly about life in Chiharu's village. Once the waiter set her steak in front of her, Chiharu picked it up with her hands and bit into it. She ate and left a mess all over the table, and Rangiku stared at her, mouth wide open, ready to receive the dainty forkful of salad she had stabbed. Finally, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Eating," she responded simply between bites.

_Well at least she's not chewing with her mouth open._ Rangiku thought, although the girl had attracted the attention of a few other restaurant goers. "Here." Rangiku reached across the table and gently pushed Chiharu's wrists so the steak, already halfway gone, was back on the plate and then grabbed the fork and knife and placed them in the perplexed girl's hands. With her own utensils, she mimed holding down the steak with the fork and sliding the knife back and fork. Chiharu did this and cut through the meat after a few tries. Rangiku clapped, pleased. She took her first bite of salad and looked up when she heard a clank.

Chiharu did not really understand the point of these tools, but she followed Rangiku's instructions. Now, her steak was maimed and she had also broken the plate. The knife had just sliced through the thin table cloth when Rangiku gasped. "Stop stop stop!" She cried, and Chiharu looked up. "Just, eat it how you were earlier, we can work on table manners later." She went back to her salad, defeated.

Chiharu shrugged and resumed her previous-and much more effective-eating method. By the time she had finished her meal, Rangiku was only half way done with her salad. "Why do you not eat quickly?" Chiharu asked, curious.

"Because I'm trying to enjoy the taste of my food," Rangiku reasoned, "It really makes you appreciate the effort someone else put into making it, and it makes me even happier that I didn't waste so much time making it."

"Oh. I too appreciate this rare treat, I have not had a steak in many years, but I believe eating with fervor after long periods of famine truly make you enjoy delicacies such as this."

It was now Rangiku's turn to shrug, "Well, that makes sense too." She finally swallowed down her final bite just as their server handed her a black leather folder. After gazing at a paper within it, the woman placed her hard paper card in the folder and returned it to him. He thanked her and walked off.

"Please tell me, what is that hard paper thing you always distribute?"

"Oh, that was my debit card, well, by 'my' I mean Hitsugaya-taichou's, because the captains have huge bank accounts compared to us poor lieutenants, but he rarely comes to the real world, and when he does, he certainly doesn't shop, so he won't miss it! And it's actually plastic, not paper. What it is, is well, we have money in places called banks, registered to us and only us-unless a certain lieutenant uses it too-and when we buy stuff, they keep track of it with our debit card and take money from my-his, whatever-account and it goes to the seller's account. Simple!"

"I see. And this is possible because of the mini brains?"

"Hm? Oh ya, you mean computers? Ya, they make a lot of things possible." Just then, the waiter returned and left Rangiku's borrowed debit card with her. Once he left, Rangiku stood and said, "Alright, time to get back to Sereitei. You must be pretty tired." She huffed, "I didn't even have time to introduce you to my friends!" Chiharu nodded and followed Rangiku to the blonde man's home. Walking through a portal, they arrived in Sereitei. It was night time here also, but the lights were less harsh and more stars could be seen twinkling, though not nearly as many as there truly were. Chiharu recognized some of her favorite constellations, including the large pot and the mother bear.

"So, Rangiku? Is it hard to become a soul reaper? For Yamamoto said that he would allow me to begin training as one, but I am not positive if I am up to it. Do you think that I should?"

"Sure, it's really fun, and you seem capable. But it may take a few years, just going through all the classes. Most people already know the basics, like about the history of Sereitei and why we do what we do, but struggle with advanced fighting skills, but you're probably the exact opposite! But I'm sure you can do it!" Rangiku put her arm around the girl.

"Do all soul-reapers dress alike?"

Rangiku put her index finger to her lower lip and looked up, "Hm. Pretty much. There are some variations, like skirt or pant, length, and whatnot, but it's kind of a universal uniform so people can distinguish us soul-reapers."

"So, why did we shop for so many clothes if I am going to have to wear the same outfit everyday?"

Rangiku rubbed the back of her head, "Hehe, well it was fun wasn't it?"

They had been steadily making their way to the 12th division barracks during their conversation. Now there, they stopped and Rangiku said, hugging Chiharu, "Goodnight, you adorable you! If you never need anything, don't be shy to come get me, I'm normally never really working." She pulled away and smiled at Chiharu. Stepping back, she flash-stepped to who knows where. Chiharu smiled. She really had had a lot of fun with the slightly eccentric woman. She shook her head thinking of the younger woman's antics that had kept her on her feet all day.

She was about to go to bed when she remembered Mayuri. _Maybe I should let him know I am returned. But I do not know where his "lab" is._ She dropped her bags of clothes off in her room then she began wandering the halls and eventually found a heavy, stone door that looked promising. It didn't slide, but when she twisted a small spherical knob, she could push it open. Inside were huge, wall-sized computers and glass tubes that reached the ceiling full of suspicious liquids. All over the floor were black strings that connected various experiments to normal computers. All the screens had different data as they flashed varying colors. There was only one person in the room, whom Chiharu didn't recognize. The door shut behind her with a clang and the figure turned around. They had on a huge white labcoat, but that wasn't what was strange about him. His face was black, except for the edges and his nose which were white, as were his hands that peeked out under his labcoat. He had one fingernail longer than the others, and on his head was a strange helmet that Chiharu likened to the ceremonial headresses of her village.

He spoke up with a familiar voice, "Eh? It's just you, Chiharu. What do you want, I'm busy." He turned around and began clicking buttons in front of the computer.

Chiharu walked towards him. "Mayuri? Is that you?" She pushed her face between him and the computer screen, "You do not look yourself."

He roughly pushed her face back, "This is what I usually wear, especially when working on unstable experiments." As if on cue, the tube that was connected to his computer started changing colors from a soft blue to a harsh red-orange. He muttered an unfamiliar word and began typing with fervor and frustration. The bubbling liquid slowly receded to a green and didn't change further. A voice that Chiharu thought came from the large computer across the room said, "Target neutralized. No further change possible." Mayuri slammed his fist on the buttons, but the liquid went through no change. Again he muttered the foreign word.

"Is something the matter, Mayuri?"

He sighed, "I was trying to make my allergy medication for the leaves, and if the solution stayed blue, it could be used to counteract the symptoms. But, since it's green it's neutral and will have no effect. Now I have to get even more leaves, and by that I mean have you get more leaves, so that I can try again tomorrow."

"I see. So you are a scientist? Like the people who invented all the technologies I have seen today?" Her wonder must have been evident in her voice, for Mayuri's pride seemed to inflate in his words.

"Yes,that's exactly what I do. I further research and thus aid in advanced technological developments, but some people try to get in the way of my experiments, even if success would benefit all of society."

Chiharu was confused, "But who would want to halt the advancement of the world?"

Mayuri huffed, "Environmentalists and people who call my experiments 'unethical'."

"Mayuri?"

"Kurotsuchi-taichou, girl," he finally remembered to add. "What?"

"Could I become a soul-reaper as well? And perhaps you could teach me about the sciences. I know I will be a difficult student, but I will learn for I am ready."

Mayuri could sense the earnestness in her voice and was pleased that someone else would show sincere interest in his favorite field, "Fine. I will train you, starting tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I'll get you through the academy in a month, easy." He grinned maliciously while muttering, "And they said I'd never be able to cheat the system. Hehe." He began walking towards the exit and Chiharu followed.

"Thank you for all that you are doing for me, Mayuri-taichou."

"Hm? Ya whatever, just don't go all emotional on me." Just then Chiharu gave the startled captain a hug. "Eh! Get off!" He pushed her back but she was still smiling. Straightening up his uniform he walked to his room. Chiharu too entered hers and, lying on the floor, anticipated the training for tomorrow. Scared, yet excited, she fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and favorites! Sorry it took so long-this time, I have a legit excuse! My computer was being way spazzy and not letting me upload! Gasp! Ever heard of freedom of the press? You lame laptop! Haha! Anyway... Now we continue!**

* * *

Chiharu slept in peace, dreaming sweet dreams of her old life. She remembered her village and the river near it. The forest, a place where she had many adventures with her friends. She remembered them, too, all the villagers who had befriended her. She remembered her beloved horse, Uma, with her beautiful shining coat of brown and her white spots on her back and face. Lastly, she remembered her parents in her dream. Her subconscious recalled a conversation she had had with them long ago that gave her strength. She had been sad about this new world, knowing that embracing it would mean letting go of her parents and friends for good, but their long ago spoken words were just the encouragement she needed to get through this confusing time of her life.

"Chiharu," spoke her mother to a young, orange-haired girl. "I sense that you will do great things for our clan, and know that whatever you decide, so long as you do it with you heart, your father and I will approve." Her father nodded. Both of her parents had been rather strict and rarely spoke their feelings or showed their emotions, so this statement was a rare display of their love. To add to the strangeness, they reached down and hugged their only daughter. Even though they probably had never guessed she would end up in a whole different era, struggling to learn new ways in a new world, she knew that they were both watching over her, silent yet strong, loving their lost daughter with every ounce of their hearts. Chiharu smiled in her dream and her joy was evident on the outside of her mind as her body in her room smiled as well.

Just then, Mayuri came in to wake the girl, his new student. He said he'd get her through the Academy in no time, and he was set on his plan. He looked through her window. The sun was just peeking above the curve of the earth in the east. It was silent, not even the morning birds were singing. He pulled out one of the simplest yet most annoying inventions. The brass portion of the object sparkled as a sliver of sunlight struck the shiny metal. He regarded his pupil. She was smiling in her sleep, and her breathing was even. He smirked, then, as his smirk transformed into an evil grin, he pushed the button.

Chiharu's eyes spread wide open. The loudest sound she had ever heard pierced her ears. Their was a shrill tone that accompanied a low, ringing noise. The sound of metal on metal crashed in her brain. Now completely awake, she covered her ears, turning to the source of the noise. She had assumed it was some shrieking demon, come to steal her soul, but instead she saw Mayuri, with a small, shaking, metal object in his hand. He seemed completely unfazed by the sounds as he pushed a button on the sound-maker and the noises ceased. Her heart pumped hard, though she could still feel fatigue behind her eyes. Shaking her head didn't eliminate the ringing in her ears.

"What was that demonic sound?"

"An alarm clock. Now get up and get dressed for training." He left the room and shut the door. Rubbing her eyes, she saw that it was the beginning of the day. She hadn't woken up this early in a long time, but she feared Mayuri's alarm clock so she hastily put on one of the shinigami robes Rangiku had given her last night. It fit perfectly, the bell sleeves resting just past her elbows and the pants reaching her ankles. She still had on her leather wraps on her arm and leg, and she left the room without any shoes. Mayuri wasn't anywhere in sight, so she went and knocked on his door. She yawned as he came out.

"I hope you're not tired, girl. A good shinigami is always ready. If I were an enemy, you'd be dead, and there's no use for a dead shinigami." He paused, "Well, actually, I could use the body for my artificial soul experiments, or as raw material for gigai, or other miscellaneous 'projects'...hehe... But never mind that! You don't want to die do you?"

She shook her head, "Of course not."

"Good. You've passed the first test of the 'Kurotsuchi Cheating the System Program.' "

Chiharu was confused, "Cheating? But, are we not trying to make me a shinigami? This is not a game, is it?"

He waved his hand in the air, "Of course not, girl. But I expect to win, and if you follow my plan, you'll be a full-fledged shinigami in less than a month." His eyes sparkled in the dark hallway with an evil glint. "It's pure genius... pure, evil genius," he muttered. He started walking off, so Chiharu followed him. Soon they were outside his residence in the 12th squad barracks. "Alright, part two: Endurance. I want you to run throughout Seireitei till the sun is high in the sky. Don't drop your pace, because I'll check in on you occasionally. No breaks, for food or water. If you need to puke, do it while running. If you feel faint, that can easily be remedied by upping your speed. If your pace increases, keep it high, no dropping. Now go!"

Chiharu was overwhelmed by the instructions, "Pardon, but, wha-"

"Go!" he shouted as he towered over her. "We're now behind on my plan! Go! Go! Go!"

Scared, Chiharu dashed off at a pace from which she could not drop. Soon, she started to regret leaving with such a quick stride. Within minutes her breathing was strained and her neck and hair was wet. She had never pushed her body to such extremes. She had sprinted, and she had run for long periods of time, but never had she run for so long at such a speed as this. No one else was out yet, they were all sleeping in their plush beds, dreaming of relaxing things. Chiharu envied them, and a part of her disliked Mayuri for pushing her so hard on her first day of training. _But, he is trying to help me be a Shinigami. I'm sure they all have gone through training like this._ She ran around, with no real sense of direction. She soon noticed that the buildings weren't all the exact same. Some were tall and narrow, while others were wide and short. Some had intricate symbols, while others had many windows. When she noticed all the details, she forgot the pain her body was going through. She decided to go down as many streets as possible, trying to map out Seireitei in her head. After about an hour, she had the 12th division barracks memorized. She had also started keeping to the shadows provided by the walls to keep cool as the sun began to rise higher. She ran towards a large tower. Keeping track of all the different side alleys was hard, but she found that each of the three barracks she visited were laid out in the same way. She assumed that all 13 barracks were clones of the others, just rotated or reversed as you made your way around the circle. Seireitei was a circular place, surrounded by high walls. She had seen only one gate, but she guessed there were several more. She finally made it to the central tower, though there wasn't much to see. The only way was up a huge flight of stairs, a path that Chiharu wisely decided not to waste energy on. She had cooled down considerably by running in the shade and was no longer sweating. The sun was less than halfway to the high point, and Chiharu had caught her second wind. She only hoped it would be enough to carry her through to the end of her task.

About this time, people began to wander around. Some regarded her oddly, an unfamiliar girl practically sprinting around, not even breaking a sweat, but just as soon as they looked at her, she left their field of vision by either turning a corner or just running too far away for their eyes to see. She even saw a few of the captains. She greeted all of them with a wave and a smile. Most smiled back, but some just nodded. A couple even managed to get in a few words.

"Good morning, Sosuke."

"Ah, Good morning, Chiharu. What are you doing running?"

"It is a part of Mayuri's training program" she called out as she turned a corner, out of earshot of Aizen. He shook his head, _That Mayuri..._

"Good Morning, Shunsui and Jushiro" she said, remembering Jushiro's advice to not add the kun to the former's name. The man noticed and acted hurt, but he soon got over it as he ran with Chiharu for a bit. Jushiro also ran alongside. She asked what they had been doing and Shunsui explained that they were just a couple of old friends going out for a drink.

"Sounds delightful. I could certainly use some water too."

"Hehe... ya. We're drinking water."

"Actually, I'm drinking tea," Jushiro said to both.

All of a sudden, Jushiro started coughing and he stopped. Shunsui slowed and turned to his friend.

"Are you alright?" he asked the white-haired man. Chiharu too was concerned for Jushiro, so she was about to stop when she felt a chill, as if a certain someone who woudn't allow her to stop was watching. Looking at the wall, she could have sworn she saw faint movement in the bricks. So instead she turned and literally ran circles around the two men.

"Yes, I'm fine, just... Well, you know."

"What is the matter?" asked Chiharu.

"Jushiro here is just sick again, but he'll be fine. But what are you doing?" He asked as his eyes followed her around and around as she ran.

"Mayuri has me on his training program, and I must run till the sun is at its highest. I cannot slow down or stop."

"How long have you been running?" Jushiro questioned.

"Since the sun rose," she answered. Feeling dizzy, she switched directions in an attempt to balance her head.

"Seriously? Mayuri is going to kill you! I wonder why he's taken an interest in you being a shinigami? No offense, of course," Shunsui said, still supporitng Jushiro's arm.

"I was not offended. Are you sure you will be alright, Jushiro?"

He smiled, "Yes, don't worry about me. I'm sure that you will make a great shinigami."

"Thank you," she responded. The two men waved and vanished, so Chiharu continued on her way.

Two hours later, the sun was straight up in the sky. Chiharu had managed to run through six divisions and greet ten captains and meet a few of their lieutenants. She made her way back to the 12th division, where she saw Mayuri standing at the entrance.

"Congratulations," he said, "You've passed the second task. Now, follow me." He led her inside to his laboratory, where a paper and pencil lay. "Do you know how to draw?" he enquired.

She nodded. She often had to map out locations of water and new food sources with her fingers in the dirt, so she was familiar with drawing visual aids.

"Excellent. Now, pick up that pencil, no the other way, with your hand! No not like that! There! Stop! Good! Alright," he sighed, exasperated. "Test 3: Memory. A good warrior always pays attention and can withdraw data from their mind at a moments' notice. Map out the Seireitei as you saw it while running and -even though I assume you didn't make it through all of it-draw how the rest of the Seireitei that you didn't run through looks like by instinct."

Chiharu nodded, confident that she could complete this task. Luckily, she had taken note of all her surroundings, and even though she had meant it to forget about the pain of running, it turned out to be a good decision. She had even run in place in front of a map near one of the divison barracks, memorising the drawing for future reference. She shut her eyes now, straining to recall the details. She started with the huge central tower and worked out. She drew out the paths she personally had taken, then added in the paths she had seen on the map: her earlier theory proved to be correct, all the barracks followed a pattern. There were other buildings that seemed not to belong; maybe she could check those out later. Finally, her map was done. She had made a few mistakes, so Mayuri showed her an undoing tool called an "eraser" which was combined with the doing utensil, or "lead point." He snatched the paper of the desk and his eyes moved over it quickly, scanning for further mistakes or missing roads.

"Hm." he grunted. "You actually got it." He sounded very surprised. "I was going to have you repeat the exercise until you got the map part, but that seems unnecessary... Unless you want to do it again?"

"I do not think that would be wise. I am tired and famished and my muscles feel unstable like water."

"Fine, but now... I suppose we can move on to the next task. Test 4: Basic Survival. Catch and cook dinner, er lunch, for yourself and me. You may find yourself in the wild, and a good warrior is ready for anything and can survive in the gravest of situations. It would be embarrassing to die not from a Hollow but from starvation, no? Now, hold my arm and I'll take you to some forest near Rukongai." Chiharu nodded and did as she was told. This time, the sudden trip did not take her by surprise and she didn't feel nauseous at all. This forest had high trees and underbrush that made perfect habitats for animals. _This task shall be simple,_ thought Chiharu. She couldn't even count how many times she had hunted and cooked, from fish to rabbits to boars. She, along with several others had even taken down a wild bear, thought it turned out to be untasty meat.

"Alright, I'll be sitting here, so make it quick. She nodded. Then walked off, becoming invisible amongst the foliage.

First, she grabbed a sturdy stick and a rock, walking quietly, listening for any animals and looking for tracks, she sharpened it into a spear. It was crude, but it would do. She kneeled down as she saw slight indentations on the ground along with some snapped twigs. She followed the prints till she heard a trickling sound nearby. Through the bushes she saw a small stream and bowing over it, lapping up water, was a wild animal, perfect for her meal. Chiharu readied her spear and crept behind it. She pulled the spear high above her head and struck.

* * *

Mayuri had finally made himself comfortable. The girl had been gone about 10 minutes now. _I wonder if she'll be able to kill an animal. She doesn't look like she could hurt a fly. But she'll be a real shinigami once she's through my training_. He sat and pondered. Why did he bring the girl back with him? He could have just told the other captains about the Hollow's odd treatment of her without saving her.

_It was her reiatsu,_ another voice in his head reasoned. _You could sense it as I could. It's very large, captain level, yet she can hold it in without even realizing what she's doing. She will make an excellent shinigami, once she realizes her power. And she needed someone to teach her, you._

_Ya, well don't make me sound so kind and generous_, _Ashisogi Jizo_, Mayuri internally mutters to his zanpakuto. _Don't forget, I wanted to experiment on her at first, but you talked me out of it. Just think, her body and organs have never come in contact with modern human pollutants. She is a clean slate for research._

_Shut up. She is returned._

Mayuri looked up to see a dark figure. "Eh? Did you give up so soon? I'm still hungry." Then the figure became clearer and he saw Chiharu, covered in blood, with a... wild boar over her shoulder! And a big one at that! "How? What? Ugh.." Mayuri was perplexed. This girl was tall, but not very strong looking. _She must have already tapped into her spirit powers to strengthen her body already, although I doubt she understands how to do so._ He also saw that Chiharu had a pile of sticks in her hand, scrawny compared to the hand-fashioned spear she had constructed.

"Hello Mayuri. Will this suffice? I was lucky enough to find him getting a drink of water. He looked big, but I killed him in one hit," she smiled, pleased with herself. She had been a good enough hunter once, but with Nobu, she only killed small game for herself, so she was surprised at her sudden strength with which she speared the boar. And, it wasn't any trouble for her to pick up either. She was starting to question this new found strength, also her ability to endure so much running this morning; perhaps she would ask Mayuri later. She threw down the bloody boar and a puff of dust went up around it.

Mayuri regarded this girl with curiosity as she threw the boar to the ground. She then kneeled with her sticks and arranged them on a bare patch of dirt, placing a circle of nearby rocks around them. She had grabbed some rocks which he recognized as flint or flint stone. Cracking two rocks against another, she managed to produce sparks that caught on the sticks and produced a small fire. She looked very much like an indigenous human now, except for her shinigami robes, all covered in blood making a fire. He should have known this test would be a cinch for her, considering her background. Oh well. She then tore some thick sticks from a tree with a crack that resembled the sound a bone makes when snapped. Once again, he was surprised by her strength, and she appeared to be too when she pulled down the branch. She gathered one more and formed a crude spit over the fire, held by logs. It had taken her less than 30 minutes to kill a huge boar, make a fire, and create a spit. Now all that was left was to cook the animal. Chiharu speared the boar and placed it horizontally, completing the spit over the fire

"Mayuri?"

"What?" he asked, regarding his one long nail. It was getting dirty.

"Can you tell me about Seireitei? And about Soul Society and shinigami?" she asked, curious as always.

"Well, I was gonna save that for later, but I suppose I can tell you now." He proceeded to tell her about the history of Soul Society, from the establishments of the separate districts to the founding of the Spiritual Arts Academy to the present time. She learned even more about the 13 squads and their members and about the ranking system. Finally, her boar was complete, as was Mayuri's story.

"Thank you, Mayuri, that was very enlightening," she smiled, removing the boar from the spear. She then withdrew a concealed stone knife and sliced through its hide and took off a piece of meat. She handed this to Mayuri, then made a piece for herself. She bit into the familiar meat, her hungry stomach cherishing the food. Mayuri stared at his food, slightly repulsed, which was saying someting since he _was_ the mad scientist.

He coughed, "Well, this is quite a rare steak... And shouldn't you have skinned it first? And where did you get that knife?"

"I always have a knife. And, well, I did not need leather, so there was not much point to skinning it. Besides, the coat has all the flavor," she said, biting into the fur.

Mayuri resisted gagging. Guess I'll get lunch at the Seireitei. He chucked his piece behind him then stood. "Alright, we're done then. Let's, uh, go, and I'll give you an hour break so I can eat, er study."

"Yes, one moment please," She kneeled by the animal and cut off its two five inch long tusks. Then, surprisingly, she prayed over the dead beast. She stood, "Now we may leave."

"What were you doing?"

"In my tribe, we always take a piece of the animal we have killed to remember our successes. Then we pray and thank the animal for its sacrifice to nourish us or provide for us."

"Whatever. I'm sure it appreciates being eaten, too. Now let's go." Chiharu put her hand on his arm and they flash-stepped back to the 12th division barracks. They weren't the only ones there, though.

"Hey, Kurotsuchi. Jushiro and I just came to make sure you hadn't killed our little Chiharu yet," greeted a grinning Shunsui. He opened his closed eyes, then they widened. Rushing to Chiharu's side, he exclaimed, "Oh, Kurotsuchi, you cruel monster, she's covered in blood! And what are those tusks? Did you use them to gore her?" Shunsui dramatically fainted at the sight of Chiharu. Jushiro just stood back, curious about the blood and the tusks, as well, but also aware that Chiharu was in no way injured.

"Shunsui, I am alright. I was just training with Mayuri. And this blood belongs to a wild boar I killed and cooked." She held up the tusks, "These are 'trophies,' I suppose."

"What type of training involves killing a boar?" Jushiro questioned Mayuri as his friend regained consciousness.

"Survival training!" Mayuri snapped, insulted that someone would question his training program.

"Oh, Chiharu-chan! You're alright!" Shunsui hugged her again, something she still didn't enjoy. She hit him over the head with one of the tusks. He threw a small fit, "She's just like my Nanao-chan."

"I suppose all women treat you the same," Jushiro laughed.

"Can you two watch her for an hour? I need to eat something that isn't covered in fur and practically raw," Mayuri slumped off without waiting for an answer.

"Sure! Don't worry, Chiharu-chan! I will keep you safe!"

Chiharu looked worried, which Jushiro noticed, "And I'll keep you safe from Shunsui."

She nodded, "Thank you, Jushiro." Shunsui pouted.

"He always gets all the ladies."

Jushiro raised an eyebrow and Chiharu laughed at his confused expression. Shunsui was also laughing, so Jushiro joined in. This proved to be unwise, however, when he started coughing up blood, worse than this morning. He kneeled and Shunsui came next to him. Now serious, he spoke up.

"Looks like we won't be having too much fun today, if you'd like, Chiharu, you could come with us to the fourth division?" She nodded and he held out his free hand. She took it in hers and they flash-stepped the the medical division, Jushiro never ceasing his violent coughing.


	5. Chapter 5

The trio arrived at the fourth division barracks. Shunsui walked ahead, supporting Jushiro with an arm around him. The usually cheerful man's face was grave, worrying Chiharu. She followed the men, thinking. _This man, he appears to be young, yet his recurring cough reminds me of illnesses I had seen only in the elderly. He is a captain, so he must be strong, but this sickness of his hinders his actions, I am sure._

They entered a building, where a kind woman Chiharu recognized as Retsu, a captain, greeted them. Her braid was the exact same as when they had first met. Retsu immediately came over to Shunsui and Jushiro.

"What happened?" she asked, taking Jushiro from his friend.

"Well, his coughing started up again this morning, but only for a few seconds. Then just a few minutes ago he started coughing very badly, worse than it has been for a while."

Retsu nodded. She walked to a private room with an open window. On a bedside table rested a vase with delicate yellow flowers, their life doing little to add any happiness to the room that smelled of medicine and cleaning supplies. Retsu gently set the sick man, who had still been coughing, his hand and white captain's robe now covered in blood, on the bed. He reclined against several pillows.

"Isane!" Retsu called, loud yet calm. A young woman with short hair with a few long, beaded strands came to the door.

"Yes, Unohana-taichou?" She didn't wait for an answer when she saw who the patient was, but instead ran back down the hall to get his usual supplies.

She returned within a minute, with several rags, a bowl of water, and a liquid-filled tube. She passed this to Jushiro who had managed to stop coughing enough to choke down the vile goop. He ceased coughing and his breathing became less ragged, but he still appeared to be in pain. Chiharu looked on feeling very lost. Everyone acted like this procedure was routine to them, so Jushiro must have had this disease for a long time. Chiharu felt bad for him and wanted to ask what was wrong, but assumed that like most men he would want to avoid talking about weaknesses, even ones that weren't his fault. The liquid's side effects hit him, and Jushiro soon fell asleep. Shunsui looked at his friend sadly and with pity, then sat on a chair near the bed.

Unohana left the room with her assistant who, judging by the armband that Mayuri had described earlier, was the lieutenant.

"Is he asleep?" Chiharu broke the silence, directing the question to Shunsui.

"Ya. He'll be out for a while, probably several hours," he stated. Chiharu nodded.

"What is this recurring sickness that he has?" Shunsui was relieved that the woman hadn't asked when Jushiro was awake-his friend felt that his tuberculosis made him weak, something he hated to point out, especially to someone he just met.

"He has something called tuberculosis. I'm no doctor, so all I know is that it attacks mainly the lungs, and that they haven't found a cure yet." He looked at his feet, almost as if he believed the last fact was his fault.

"No cure? So what was that liquid?" she glanced at the kind captain. He was asleep, but sweating profusely and trembling.

"It is merely a treatment for some of his symptons," answered Retsu as she stuck a sharp stick into Jushiro's arm. She pushed the end of this then removed it. Jushiro stoped trembling within seconds and seemed to be at peace finally.

"What is tuberculosis exactly, Retsu?"

"Unfortunately, tuberculosis is a common, deadly disease that is caused by mycobacterium. While it mainly affects the lungs, it can spread to other organs, though normally only in young children or people with already weak immune systems. For Jushiro, the bacteria is only present in his lungs. There are vaccinations for it, but those who haven't been vaccinated and contract the disease must go through long treatment processes involving many anitbiotics. The bacteria are structured differently from others, so the antibiotics sometimes have effects, but sometimes not, and in Jushiro's case, it is the latter. But, I'm sorry, I'm sure you did not understand much of what I said."

"That is alright. I think I get it. These bacteria are inside his lungs, then? And attack him so he has breathing problems? And the antibiotics that you gave him prevent pain while trying to get rid of the bacteria?"

"Correct."

Chiharu nodded, then looked at Jushiro. _I wish I could help him, as he helped me when I spoke with the other captains. I wonder if Mayuri knows anything about it. _"Is there anything I could do to help?" she finally spoke.

Unohana smiled, "I'm afraid not. It requires much medical knowledge to treat a disease like this." She said it kindly, with no intent to insult Chiharu's lack of knowledge.

"Could Mayuri possibly help? He seems to show an interest in science and I'm sure I could ask him to assist you." Shunsui paled.

"I don't want that mad scientist to dissect my friend!"

"Yes, Chiharu, I don't know what Kurotsuchi has told you, but he sometimes goes about science and medicine in... unethical ways. I think it might be best to go about treating Jushiro in more conventional ways and hoping for recovery. If you wish to help though, you could always just be a friend to him."

"You speak as if he may die soon, and that we should make his last days more enjoyable for him. But if there were a cure, would you not strive to find it, so that his last days may be put off, or done away with entirely? Are you not a doctor?" Both captains were surprised with the girl's sudden tone. While Unohana looked at Jushiro, Shunsui chuckled.

"Well, you certainly seem passionate about this. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to consult Mayuri about it."

Unohana looked back up, serious, "Yes, you may ask him, but under no circumstances may you act out any type of treatment without my consent." She smiled, which sent a shiver down Chiharu's spine. "Is that understood?"

Chiharu, never one to back down or not have the last word, stood up and gave Unohana an equally eerie smile, "Of course. Do not worry about a thing. I will make it my personal mission to help Jushiro." She turned and exited the room.

After a few minutes, Unohana spoke to Shunsui. "I hate to say this, but Chiharu and Mayuri may be our last hope. Jushiro's condition is worsening, and soon his lungs may be under to much strain for him to breathe normally while sleeping. While their cure, if they do find one, may hurt him, I fear that he won't be any worse off because of it."

Just then, Mayuri flash stepped into the room. He had finished his lunch, a simple rice bowl that had been much tastier than a hairy piece of meat could've ever been, and decided to get his student to restart their training. But, only Shunsui, Unohana, and Jushiro were there, Jushiro completely out. _Must've had another symptom. Tch. Those idiots should have let me treat him when he first was diagnosed. He could've been completely cured, just with artificial lungs... and a fake heart, blood vessels, and kidneys... Them and their "ethics."_

"Where is my subordinate?" he asked when the two captains looked up at him.

"She just left, well stormed out, kind of. You can ask her about it later," answered the captain who was one of Mayuri's least favorite-Shunsui was always happy, and his personality was so loose and carefree... disgusting.

"Great, now I'll search all over Seireitei, thanks a ton," he rolled his eyes as he flash stepped away.

Shunsui sighed, "That man is the last hope for Jushiro? God help us."

* * *

After turning down a few false alleys, Chiharu made it to what she thought was the twelfth division. She entered one of the buildings and went down hallway. Everything was formatted the exact same as Mayuri's office, so she was surprised when she slid open the door to find a different captain.

She bowed, "Pardon me," she looked up in thought, "Byakuya. I thought this was the twelfth division, but I seem to have gotten lost. Again." She smiled sheepishly then noticed a man whose head seemed to be on fire staring at her. Then he smirked.

"Byakuya?" he said, then was silenced by a glare from the icy man.

"That is alright, Chiharu." he stood up. "Since I have nothing to do, I shall take you back to Kurotsuchi, who seems to have already misplaced you."

She giggled, "Actually, I believe I may have misplaced myself. He is probably searching for me as we speak."

"But-taichou, what about the paperwork?" stuttered a confused lieutenant.

"I believe you can handle it, Abarai-fukutaichou, or are your responsibilities as lietenant too much to handle? Perhaps you could become 6th seat again, or maybe even transfer to a new division?"

Abarai straightened in his seat. "Wha-? No! Taichou, I can do the paperwork."

"Good." Byakuya led Chiharu out of his office then eventually they were out of the barracks.

"What division are you the head of again?"

"The sixth."

"And who was that other man?"

"My lieutenant, Abarai Renji."

Silence.

"What division is this?"

"The seventh."

Silence.

"This division is?"

"The eighth."

Silence.

"Is that device on your head, like a crown?"

"It is a kenseikan. It symbolizes my position as head of the Kuchiki clan."

"So you are a clan leader then?" Chiharu brightened, glad she found a familiar concept. "Were you born into your postion or did you marry to acheive your status?"

His eyes seemed to darken at the word "marry" but he spoke with his normal, flat tone, "I was born into it."

"I see. I too, was born to be my clan's leader, once my parents passed, but I would have had to marry, for women were not allowed to lead at that time. I am glad to see that women are given equal opportunities in this world, as I have met several female captains." She spoke more than Byakuya liked, but her voice had a type of authority in it, like she demanded to be heard. _She would fit in with other nobles, as she technically is one, _he thought. Outwardly, though, he merely nodded at her comment.

"Have you married yet, Byakuya?"

He was surprised at the sudden, personal question, but he answered, "Yes, but she has passed."

She nodded, "And you have not again been married? But is it not your duty to your clan to produce heirs?" He sighed, _She certainly would get along with my relatives._

"I do not wish to marry again."

"I see. I understand, my father tried to get me to marry several times, but the men were all strange and I wanted nothing to do with them. Even though people like us are typically fated to have arranged marriages, it does no harm for there to be love in the relationship," she observed.

Again he nodded.

Silence.

"How do you walk like that?"

He opened his eyes, "What do you mean?"

"You have been walking with your eyes closed for the last two divisions. Shall you not crash if you keep walking like that?"

He closed his eyes again, "I know my way." Chiharu shrugged and kept walking alongside him. She even tried walking with her eyes closed, only to crash into a wall.

"Ow." Byakuya looked down at her, slightly amused, but his features did not betray his feelings. He assisted her in standing, and she muttered, "These people are strange."

They finally made it to the twelfth division, where Chiharu decided to memorize the symbol above the barrack entrance. She paused, so Byakuya waited for her.

"What does this symbol mean exactly."

"Twelve."

"Oh." she furrowed her brow "Two lines crossed through the middle with two more lines below. And your division symbol, was it not like a man running?"

"Yes." Byakuya answered her childlike question simply. She nodded.

"Mayuri will have to teach me your writing system."

He wasn't too shocked that she had never written before, since she was from a less advanced era, so he just nodded.

"Well, thank you for taking me here. I am sorry that it took so long, you could have flash stepped with me."

"I did not wish to make you uncomfortable."

She smiled, "That was awfully considerate of you. Why, Mayuri just threw me over his shoulder and flash-stepped. It really was quite nauseating, but I think I have gotten used to it. Well, goodbye again!" She waved then walked into the barracks toward the twelfth division lab. Byakuya debated in his mind, then decided to flash-step to his home. _Renji can handle a little paperwork while I sit in the gardens._ He wasn't sure where this slackerish attitude came from, but he certainly didn't mind.

"Mayuri?" Chiharu called out as she entered the lab. This time, there were a few other people there. They looked up at her when she entered, then continued typing away. "Hello," Chiharu greeted.

"Who the heck are you?" asked a green blob of a man.

"My name is Chiharu. And you are?"

"I'm Hiyosu. This is Tsubokura Rin," he pointed to a brown-haired girl. "And this is Akon," he gestured to a man with black hair, no eyebrows, and several horns dotting his forehead. "We are researchers her in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute."

Chiharu nodded and smiled, "It is a pleasure to meet you all. Rin, I do like your hair. It is nice to know there is another girl in this division!"

Rin flushed, "I-I'm a man!"

Chiharu's smile vanished, "Is that so? I am terribly sorry, but you are quite feminine in appearance. You truly reminded me of my little cousin, Kimiko." Rin appeared to be crying, but Chiharu turned her attention back to the thing that had first spoke. "Do you know where I might find Mayuri?"

_Who is this girl to just ask for Kurotsuchi-taichou willy nilly, without any terms of respect? She's somewhat intimidating, though I don't know why. _He opened his mouth to answer that where his taichou was was his own business, when Mayuri himself entered the room.

"Chiharu, there you are. You shouldn't run off like that, because if you die, I'll probably be ejected from my positions as taichou of the 12th division and president of the Institute, you stupid girl. Where did you go?"

"I am sorry, Mayuri, I got lost leaving the fourth division. But Byakuya led me here."

"That noble? I see. Well, Kyoraku and Unohana told me you had something important to tell me?"

"Oh yes. Well, I would like you to do me the honor of teaching me about this modern science and medicine."

"Why? You do realize this is not something to learn overnight."

"I know, I was hoping we could focus on it along with my Shinigami training."

"Hmph. Now I'll have to completely redo the schedule, and, again, why have you taken such an interest in medicine suddenly?"

She looked away, not in embarrassment, but almost in defiance, though not directed at Mayuri. "I wish to help Jushiro."

_Hm. Maybe I can prove how wrong Unohana is, and she'll realize the benefits of science when studied by someone willing to advance the world, no matter the cost! _Chiharu wasn't sure what to make of his silence.

"I will not beg you to do this, but, as my... acquaintance, could you grant me this favor?"

"Fine, alright, but don't you dare complain about the workload, or I'll throw you out, despite what Yamamoto said. You'll also have to learn to... bend some rules in order to get basic data that wench Unohana keeps from me on Ukitake's condition and if you want to treat him in any way, as I doubt she'll be willing to try anything we come up with." When he reached his opinions about Unohana, he spoke with clear bitterness, which confused Chiharu. Retsu seemed a nice enough woman.

"I understand," she nodded. "Now, what shall we do for training?"

Mayuri grinned, "Well, since you insist on a new schedule, I suppose we will skip ahead to the best part of being a Shinigami, besides live body experimentation, of course." he paused then chuckled, reminiscing about his many fun tests on living humans. "Hm? Oh yes! The second best part of being a Shinigami: your zanpakutou. However, we'll have to work on basic swordsmanship first, so we'll use the training area of the barracks to practice."

Chiharu nodded, then followed Mayuri as he left the lab. She waved to the other lab workers, leaving them with a simple salution. "It was nice to meet you all. I hope we shall meet again in the future."

As they walked, Mayuri spoke, "Girl, your voice is grating on my ears, or rather my stubs, though I'm not sure why."

She bowed while walking, "I am sorry, Mayuri."

"I know! You don't use contractions, how annoying... we'll work on that, so maybe I can actually enjoy my day."

Chiharu smiled. Even though Mayuri spoke coldly, he wasn't that bad of a man. He treated her well enough, but others made him out to be a cruel captain. In the short time she knew him, Chiharu was starting to respect him as a father-type figure. She felt safer with him around, and was willing to take on any tests he'd give her, even these "contractions", which sounded awfully painful to her.


	6. Chapter 6

"Alright, this was going to wait till tomorrow, but since we're ahead, we may as well. Test 6: sword training. Every Shinigami has a weapon, called a zanpakuto, which is a spirit which lends its powers to the wielder, but only if they are deemed worthy. If you can't wield a sword, your zanpakuto will probably never reveal itself or its name. The spirits are all different, based on your Reiryoku, which is potential spirit power within everyone: humans, souls, hollows. Technically, everyone has a zanpakuto, for any creature who lives and breathes has spirit power, yet most are so weak that they don't ever discover their swords. But, a select few have the ability to harness their Reiryoku and unleash it outside their bodies, in a form called reiatsu. A person's strength can normally be determined by the force of their reiatsu; I can tell that you have a fair amount because you've been leaking it since we met, I assume being in Soul Society which is made of pure spirit particles for 1500 years strengthened your natural reiryoku to the level it is now. But, until you learn your zanpakuto's name, how much reiatsu you have is no matter. You must train your body and prepare it for the weapon you may receive if it decides to make itself known." Mayuri stopped his speech as they came to a courtyard, very out of place among the numerous buildings of the 12th division. It was large, with high walls surrounding it. The ground was simple dirt with small patches of yellowed grass sprouting up in various places. On one wall were very wide stairs that led to nowhere. Several people had been sitting on these but they cleared out when they saw their captain, though not without quick bows before they fled. "This is the training arena. We twelfth division members don't spend a lot of time here, because we're normally in the labs, so we shouldn't be interrupted." On the wall which was broken by the wide arch they walked through hung several wooden weapons: swords, shields, and staffs.

"How shall we train?" Chiharu asked as she ran her fingers over the finely carved wood, not even earning herself a sliver. They had training swords like these in her old life, as well, and even though they weren't real, they caused just as much pain as a metal sword, minus the skin-piercing effects.

"By sparring of course. Have you ever held a sword?"

She grabbed one of the wall and swung it in experimental arcs, "Yes, everyone in my village trained with the sword at a young age, so I have had experience, though it was very long ago. When we came of age, we could pick our own weapon for hunting; I chose a spear, so that is my preferred weapon."

"I see. Well, it's probably been a while since you've had any type of training, right? So a review in zanjutsu will certainly help you out." He also reached for a wooden sword, ignoring the sword he kept strapped to his body at all times.

"Well, I actually did train when I came to Soul Society, though it was with a home-made spear. I kept it a secret from Nobu, for I feared that he would misinterpret my training as an attempt to become strong enough to defeat him. However, he found out, but instead of being upset, he actually helped train me a bit. With the years, he became too tired to do much though, so I just trained on my own again." Chiharu took a normal fighting stance, both hands on the hilt and both legs bent with her left a step ahead of her right. Her face took on a look of determination, and her serious, brown eyes watched as Mayuri took a pose mirroring her own.

"Alright, you will attack me first and I will parry. Try to hit me, and don't hold back. If you feel a pressure within your body, try to harness and unleash it, but more important is that you keep it under control, got it? When I say so, we'll switch, and you'll defend. Then, I'll judge your performance. Begin."

With that, Chiharu took the first swing, a normal downward arc aimed at her teacher's chest. He angled his weapon and blocked it easily. The clunk of wood-on-wood echoed in the stadium. Her next hit was an attack up and to the left that would've hit his stomach had he been defenseless. They continued like this for several minutes, her aggresively pushing him back with each swing and him blocking. Her hits were rusty at first, but then they became more graceful and visibly skillful; her hits were consistently strong, her spiritual power fueling her muscles, though she did this unknowingly. A wide arc to his head caught Mayuri off guard as he barely blocked it: all this time she had struck in his torso area, this was her first head shot. Her sword barely made a sound as it tapped his own, surprising him with its uncharacteristic weakness. She withdrew quickly, much faster than her previous movements, which were already above average. She took a stab at his chest and, caught in an awkward position from his last block, it landed, pushing him back a yard and earning a grunt from him. By now, he was practically backed up against a wall-literally and figuratively. With his hand clutching the sore spot over his heart and his other hand holding his sword out, leaving a wide opening in his defense, he watched as Chiharu raised her sword high above her head. Right as she began her downward swing, she unleashed her reiatsu. The air around him became tense and heavy with her power. His eyes widened. _Yes, her reiatsu is level with that of a captain's, she probably has more than some, but of course it's not the most powerful, _Mayuri thought to himself. He was about to withrdraw his zanpakuto, knowing that a mere wooden sword that was already splintering from the girl's attacks couldn't stand against a much stronger one, when her reiatsu wavered and she froze. Her arm shook and she dropped her sword, with her arm still raised in the air. Her eyes also widened as her reiatsu receded to the steady but faint pulsing it had been at before.

"I am sorry. I tried to control my reiryoku in my body and release it, but as I did, I could no longer reign it in. It was as if it had a mind of its own. When I tried to strike again, the pressure froze my muscles, as if my own body was working against me."

"That's alright," Mayuri regarded the girl strangely, curious as to the nature of her spirit power. He had a theory, which he was determined to prove. "Was that all your reiatsu you unleashed?" He assumed that the high force was her maximum power.

"No, I kept some inside, for I could feel that it was the sole power behind my attacks. If I had cleared my body of all its internal spirit power, my body would probably give out due to fatigue, for that power is the only reason I have been able to stand all this training, is that not right?" Mayuri was shocked with her grasping of reiatsu and reiryoku and their properties, but even more shocked that she had more potential power.

He shook his head, clearing his mind, "Okay, now I will attack and you'll defend." Mayuri took a similar pose, but Chiharu took a different one for defending. Both of her legs were bent and level with one another, and only her right hand held her sword, her other was spread out to provide balance, Mayuri assumed. It was a much stronger one, for sure. It provided stability and strength, though wasn't convenient for quick footwork. She seemed much more comfortable in it, though, and he speculated that she was a defensive fighter, who only attacked when necessary, which fit into his theory nicely. "Begin," he said.

His hits had great strength and accuracy, and they were fast, all characteristic of a seasoned captain's fighting skills. Chiharu didn't take many steps back, and when she did, they were little; she kept her stance despite Mayuri's barrage of strikes. Each one she blocked, though she feared her sword wouldn't hold up much longer. Chunks had been sliced off by Mayuri's sword, yet he didn't let up on his attacks. Strike after strike landed on Chiharu's sword. She had to shift it up and down, left and right at his seemingly random hits. She was sweatng by now in the heat of the day, the high walls doing little to shade her, but merely shading things withing inches of them. She grew tired, and her blocks were slower and weak, barely saving her from his attacks. She tapped into her reiryoku and released when her sword finally broke and Mayuri pulled back for a finishing blow.

A sudden flare of power escaped Chiharu. It was stronger than her initial blast, and much steadier. It flowed through her and around her, creating a warm environment. Her muscles felt fresh and limber. Once again, a force within her took control. She held her arm up and gripped her hand around an invisible weapon. Her mouth moved of it's own accord.

"Roar, Tamotsukuma!" as she yelled, spirit particles formed out of her yellow reiatsu, making a physical weapon in her hands. Mayuri's forceful strike landed on her new spear, and a flash of Chiharu's reiatsu spread over the scene. After it cleared, only one person was standing, the other was several yards away, with tracks in the dirt leading to their body on the ground. Mayuri sat up and looked at what remained of his sword, the hilt. Tiny wood shavings were still floating around him. He blew away a puff of them as he stood. Dusting off his pants, he glared at Chiharu, who stood there staring at her weapon.

"And _that_ is your zanpakuto. It must have felt that you were in danger so it revealed itself to aid you. That must have also been what prevented you from attacking me earlier. I theorize that you have a purely defensive zanpakuto, that will do anything to protect you, but only attack if you are in trouble. So, now you have met your zanpakuto's spirit. It dwells within your mind, and will guide you and protect you till you die. You've acheived the first step, shikai, but there is also a final release, bankai, which gives even more power. It may take years to acheive this, though. Well, it probably should have taken you longer training to get your shikai, but perhaps since you've been here so long-after all, it's been trying to reveal itself for 1500 years as your strength increased, but it couldn't. Hmm... very curious." Mayuri continued to voice his thoughts outloud, but Chiharus wasn't focused on his ramblings. She sat, holiding her spear in her lap. It was a normal looking spear, made of smooth, dark wood with many darker stripes that made it look very much like a piece of wood just barely removed from a tree, even though it was obviously a carved piece. The large, arrowhead-shaped point was jet black, like obsidian rock, though it was also smoothed, without the typical chips that formed when one tried to carve the beautiful stone. Below the point was red dyed leather strips, of the same thickness as the ones Chiharu still wore, the only physical remembrance of her past, primitive days. It connected to two feathers, pure white and one with black tips and the other with brown. It was light, but very strong, as she judged by the way it held up to Mayuri's attack and even sent him flying, his sword destroyed.

"Tamotsukuma," she whispered. The name was appropriate, meaning "protector" and "bear." She believed that Mayuri's theory was true, that is was very defensive, and she respected her zanpakuto spirit for its nature. Fighting wasn't always the way to go about things. It seeked peace, just like Chiharu did: she would only kill for food or to protect herself or others, and she had never liked fighting. Mayuri had also said that it lived in her mind, so she closed her eyes, meditating, trying to contact it. Instead of clearing her mind, she thought of things that he, or she, would like: peace, quiet, running water, a green forest, sunny days. All these things made her feel rather sleepy, but she kept her focus. Soon, she entered a whole new world, one created by her own mind. It was a forest, similar to the one she had resided in with Nobu. The trees were thick and little spots of sunlight crept in between the many leaves of the tree canopy above her head. She had on a sleeveless cloth dress that covered her knees. It had alot of precious stone detailing around the neckline, which sparkled when she walked under a pocket of light. She recognized it as one of her dresses from home. It was intricate and beautiful, much finer than the dresses owned by other girls, but that was one of the benefits of being the daughter of the tribal leader. It took expert craftswomen to weave enough cloth for a dress, a soft cloth they had called silk. It was undyed, and its pure whiteness contrasted with Chiharu's naturally tan skin. In her right hand was her spear, and it glowed gently at first, then brighter and brighter as she made her way through the forest. Finally, she came to a large clearing that was perfectly circular, the trees and their branches not daring to break the perfect shape. Grass grew in place of the trees and a breeze whispered through the blades, making them shiver, though it wasn't cold. Directly in the middle stood a boulder, also circular. It sloped inward then flattened, a mini plateau. She approached this and, expectins something important to happen, looked around. Nothing did, so she sat, pulling up pieces of grass and tying knots in them out of boredom. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and looked back up to the rock. A huge, brown bear reclining happily on its back on top of the rock returned her gaze.

She started and stood, letting out a small shriek. She pointed her spear at it which it stared at with lazy eyes. It rolled over and yawned, then strode toward Chiharu. Its head was higher up than hers. She backed up, scared, but then she lowered her spear and spoke, "Are you Tamotsukuma? My zanpakuto?"

The bear's ears twitched at the sudden noise which was out of place in this land of quite, where the only sounds were birds, water, and various chirps and buzzes of bugs. He yawned, then replied, "Yes, that is my name. Tamotsukuma, delightful, isn't it? And you are Chiharu, an equally lovely name. Names are curious things, aren't they? People tend to grow into them don't you think? And if they had been named differently, you'd think it would be odd, but they may have grown into those as well. But, that's a thing for time conundrums and whatnot, no?"

She spoke when the creature paused his ramblings, "Um, yes? But, why am I here?"

"Why, you thought yourself here, I didn't bring you, don't you remember? I should be asking you, why are you here?"

"I suppose I wished to meet you, seeing as you are the source of my powers."

"Ah, then you are wise. Many shinigami don't truly grasp the secret behind their strength, and don't appreciate we poor spirits. I'm glad that I have a kind owner."

"But, I just met you. How do you know for sure that I am kind."

"Silly girl, you may have just met me, but I've known you since you were born, and I've been dwelling in your mind, feeling your emotions and innermost thoughts collide with my own. I've been with you for centuries, so I think by know I have a right to judge your character." Another yawn escaped his mouth, revealing long, pearly fangs. The bear stretched, then sat on its hide, very much like a human. It loomed over Chiharu, but she knew she could trust the fearful beast.

"Are you tired?"

"Not tired, exactly, but during the many years you were unable to hear me calling to you, I did what all good bears do: hibernate. I woke up when your reiatsu was tinged with fear in order to help you. But don't worry, I didn't miss a thing while I slept; I dreamt constantly, and my subconscious kept a close eye on you. Now, I'm just sleepy since I just woke up."

Chiharu nodded, and the bear was silent. The awkward pause made her uncomfortable, so she decided to take her leave. After all, if she wanted to speak with her zanpakuto, all she had to do was look to herself. With a bow, she said, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Tamotsukuma. I will try my best to be a great Shinigami worthy of your powers."

His-she decided to refer to it as a male, though his physical traits did not provide any type of gender identification- eyes shut in delight and what seemed to be a smile graced his lips, his teeth looking much less threatening when used to convey such a positive expression. He stood on his two rear legs and walked like a man toward Chiharu. He didn't notice the look of fear as he grabbed the girl who was just more than half his height when he stood upright into an embrace. Her eyes widened as he lifted her in the air and chuckled lightly.

"Oh, Chi Chi! No need to be so formal, we are friends! I know you'll become a shinigami worth telling about in no time, with or without my help. Now, keep training and I'll reveal some more of my awesome moves you can use, though only in self-defense or to help the greater good of course." He set her down, and she seemed ruffled by the odd gesture. He shrugged, "Sorry, bear hugs are my thing."

She rolled her eyes at the cheesy pun and at her new nickname and laughed, "I must go now, I'm sure Mayuri is very worried about me." She paused. "Actually, he is probably alright, but I would like to get back anyway to continue my training." With one last smile at Tamotsukuma, she returned into the trees. With each step, the nature faded, and soon it was white. She closed her eyes, then opened them, staring at a familiar training grounds. The sun was just above the horizon line, its rays mixing with the blues of the sky, creating new colors that shined off the bottoms of the puffy clouds. Mayuri was nowhere to be seen, so Chiharu decided to head to the lab, where he would most likely be found. Stretching, she noticed that her spear had changed into a plain katana with a black scabbard. The guard was square with tiny pawprints around it, and the hilt was yellow with black wrap stretched over it in diamond patterns. Off the hilt was a black ribbon that held a small, silver charm: a feather, the size of her thumb, with finely carved details showing all the lines of the inidividual barbules. Even when sealed, Tamotsukuma could be seen in his simple, natural beauty.

_"I'm glad you think I'm pretty," _chuckled a voice. It was Tamotsukuma, and his words echoed through her head.

_"You can speak with me even when I am not meditating?" _she thought, aiming her question at the spirit present in her mind.

_"Of course, now we can be the best of friends, Haru-kun! You'll have to tell me everything, most importantly, about your love life! Even though I know everything about you, it's more fun to hear gossip from you!" _He spoke giddily, akin to a schoolgirl, not that Chiharu knew anything about school.

His excitement triggered a roll of her eyes, as she thought, _Now I have to put up with _him _constantly spying on me._

_"Hey! I heard that!"_

She groaned outloud, "This is going to be a _looong_ life."

* * *

_**A/N: **_**Yay! Finally got that done! I've been busy with travelling, and my parents have been getting mad at me for spending so much time on the computer, and want me to do something more productive with my life... so I've been limiting my computer time... Of course, they think I'm playing bubble shooter, haha! ;] Anyway, that was exciting, no? Chiharu has her zanpakuto! Yay! Also, for any Japanese buffs, I don't really know how they form names, so I just mushed Tamotsu ("protector", a name on this list I found) with Kuma ("bear", according to the internet) to make Tamotsukuma! I don't know if that's, like, legit or anything, but I'll roll with it! The Bleach characters have such cool and longish names, so I didn't want to just make it like Kuma or something, or give it a plain old human name! So, sorry if my improv irks you! :P Thanks for reading, and listening to my rambles! I'll try to speed up the pace for the next chapter. :]**


	7. Chapter 7

Back in the lab, Chiharu found her mentor clacking away on a keyboard with many of his assistants running around him. In the center of the room was a metal table occupied by a body. The body was hooked up to numerous machines via black ropes, with the largest one running from the point where the head meets the neck to a huge, glass cylinder filled with a yellow substance. It swirled around within its container, bubbling violently. She went to Mayuri and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What? Is the patient showing signs yet?"

"I do not know, Mayuri. What are you doing?"

"Oh! Chiharu! Well, since you zoned out on me, I decided to make better use of my time than sitting there as you meditate by working."

"I see. But what are you working _on?_" she asked.

"He's one of the newer students of the Research Institute. This is an initiation, kinda, and it will enhance his body's overall strength, intelligence, speed, agility, all that stuff."

"Is this 'initiation' why some of your members look... strange?"

"Ya, well, it doesn't react the same way to everyone, but it's still a sacrifice any warrior should be willing to make," he countered, even though, Chiharu noted, the members of the Institute weren't really the "warrior" types at all. She also noted that, since she met this man, "warrior" seemed to be his favorite word.

Several minutes later, there was the female voice again, "Operation complete." As soon as she said this, the man sat up, groaning from the movement and clutching his head. Steam poured out from the bottom of the cylindrical structure. It surrounded him and coated the lab floor. The visibility dropped, and when the vapors cleared, Chiharu got a good look at the new man. He appeared completely normal, like a regular human being, though closer inspection revealed a third eye growing on his forehead, their strangeness matching his out of place third and fourth ears.

"Perfect!" Mayuri exclaimed. "The transformations were minimal. What do you think, Chiharu? Maybe you could go through this as well. It will definitely improve your overall being, though with some... side effects, of course."

"I would prefer my body's current structure, thank you." Chiharu's eyes widened in fear as she thought of the various mutations she could experience. Even though she admired Mayuri's scientific developments, she was starting to understand why many though his work was unethical. But, she still trusted him, though not necessarily with her own body. If he helped her out with Jushiro's illness, she would certainly have to keep a close eye on him and his methods.

He shrugged, "Fine. Have it your way. Did you need something?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I _would _like some food." She clutched her stomach as she said this sheepishly.

He stepped away from his computer to his patient. "How do you feel?"

"Possitively nauseous. Please, can you help me?" The man swayed in his seat and fell towards Mayuri.

"Hey, Chiharu! I have some leftover pike. It's a bit old, but I'll let you have it. You obviously aren't too picky about your meat quality. Follow me." He stepped away and headed to the lab's only door, causing the falling man to continue on his journey to the floor. His groans could be heard as the pair left the room.

"Thank you, Mayuri. May I ask what my next task shall be?"

"Try this: Kurotsuchi-taichou, what's my next task? It's much more modern."

"Kurotsuchi-taichou, what's my next task? It's much more modern." She followed his instructions, even though the sentences didn't make much sense and seemed to be lacking necessary words.

He sighed, "Nevermind. And, your next task, Test number 7, is... numbers!" By now they had arrived at Mayuri's quarters. He opened the front door and didn't hold it open for Chiharu, though she made it in without it hitting her back. The front room was decorated simply, with plush looking chairs around a firepit that was built into the wall to the right. The end table by the chairs had a fine, painted vase encasing one, lone flower. It was beyond wilted, and black petals were strewn about the table around the container.

Mayuri avoided this room and kept straight. They passed numerous sliding doors till they came to the kitchen. She hadn't been in this part of the house yet, for the private rooms were accessed through a different door. He gestured a table a bit past the kitchen and Chiharu sat. She watched as Mayuri pulled something from a large box—which, when opened, sent shivers up her arms—then placed it in a smaller box. Several beeps sounded and a whirring noise followed for a few minutes. It stopped with one, long beep, then Mayuri opened the box and pulled out the fish plate producing a good smell that permeated the room. He set this on the table in front of Chiharu and opened a drawer to get her a fork, but she had already grabbed the treat with her hands and bit into it.

"Uh. Alright." Mayuri sat across from her, not really sure what to do. He decided to read a book which he pulled from his shelf in the living room. Only a few pages were read, however, by the time Chiharu had eaten her quick meal.

"Are you reading?" she enquired.

"Yes," he replied.

"Is it fun?"

"It's alright."

"What are you reading on?"

"A... chair?"

"No, I meant to say, what is the tablet on?"

"This _book_ is a _book_ that documents medical diseases. I'm reading about tuberculosis, the disease Ukitake has."

"Oh, can you tell me about it?"

"Well, it is a bacterial infection within the body that normally strikes but is not limited to the lungs." Even though she had no clue what bacteria were, or lungs, she did know for sure that this tuberculosis was a grave illness judging by how Jushiro reacted earlier.

"How does one get tuberculosisis?"

"Tuberculos_is_. And it's an airborne disease: you could get it just by breathing the air of someone else with it."

"How did it come into being, then, if the contraction of it requires that it already be there?"

"Some bacteria probably mutated during replication and, with a change in the genome, new proteins were produced via translation of the nucleotide sequence, thus creating the guilty bacteria _Mycobacterium tuberculosis_, which somehow got into a person's body, who hacked up copies of the bacteria, which infected even more people. This book says it was discovered in 1882, so in less than 200 years, it has spread quickly all over the world."

"That is interesting, Mayuri, but I have no idea what you are speaking on."

"Maybe we can skip test 7, then, and we can start with this disease. Tomorrow, I'll send you to the library with one of my subordinates who can read to you anything about science, namely biology, DNA, medical documents, et cetera. Alright?"

"Yes, that sounds perfect. You seem very excited to help out your peer."

"Well, I'm not. I like science. I couldn't care less about Ukitake," he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

Chiharu laughed, "Even after what some people have said about you, I believe that you are a good person at heart, and I am happy for your help." She walked around the table and hugged him. A faint pink showed through his make-up.

"Alright, alright! Enough sentimental crap! Get off!" He pushed her away from him and stood up, brushing her love off his clothes with his hands. "Here, let me give you a Soul Phone so you can go out a do something and call me if you need." He opened another drawer, this one filled with tiny, black and silver blocks and miscellaneous ropes. He grabbed one and tossed it toward Chiharu who caught it with ease. She fiddled around with it for several seconds and jumped when it opened, becoming longer and slimmer. A mini beach had somehow been crammed into a square, and below it were several buttons covered with symbols.

"This is a Soul Phone? Remarkable! But, how did you get that shoreline into such a small space?" Even after holding it in various angles, it befuddled her senses.

He smacked his forehead. "It's called a picture. It's not an actual beach. Alright, so if you hear it make noise, open it. I downloaded some popular ringtones from ''. It has every Shinigami's number pre-programmed into it, but I'll be the only one calling you, so there's not really any point to that." He scratched his head. "Plus, you can't read, text, call, or do anything on your own... Oh well! Just go for... a walk, or something! I need to relax. By myself." With a bow, Chiharu rushed down the halls, happy to have a break from training.

Outside, the crescent moon resided in the sky as the supreme source of light over the tiny, twinkling stars. The air was cool and crisp and smelled faintly of plum blossoms, just barely beginning to produce their flowers and the aromas that go with them. She walked, not with any specific destination, just forward. She found herself in front of another division's barracks, this one with two, crossed lines etched into a plaque over the front entrance. Recognizing the location, she continued through the arch. There were many Shinigami in the courtyard which was aglow with the light of slickering torches. They were laughing, many flushed with drink, and all gathered around a table. Chiharu approached, and noticed that it was covered with food and diningware. Behind a huge, black kettle stood Rangiku who was dishing out rice to anyone with a plate.

"Oh! Chiharu! What are you doing here? Come for the 10th division's famous sticky rice, eh? Well, grab a plate and dig in!" Even though she had just eaten, in Chiharu's village it had been an immense insult to reject anyone's gift of food, so she relented with a smile and grabbed a dish for herself. Rangiku piled on some white rice which was quickly shoveled into Chiharu's mouth.

"Thank you, Rangiku. That was very satisfying."

The older woman beamed, "I'm glad you liked it! So, anyway, why'd you come here?"

"Mayuri told me to go for a walk, and I ended up here. Are you having a celebration?"

"Yes! Today, March 29th, is my half-birthday!"

"Congratulations! What is that?"

"Hm? Well, I didn't want to wait till September to have my birthday party, so I'm having it now, six months early! We got a cake, tons of food, presents, and best of all, sake!"

_What is 'September?' _Chiharu thought.

_"It's a month. Nowadays, people have calendars to keep track of the days. They don't just go by the changing seasons or weather patterns or phases of the moon, even though these things are still important, they have a more systematic way of organizing the year," _Tomatsukuma voiced in.

_"I see. It's odd to know the exact day of your birth. I only know that I was born just before mid-winter, during the full moon."_

_"That sounds like Christmas!" he sang happily._

_"What is that?"_

_"Well, a couple hundred years before your time, a whole ton of miles to the west, a man was born named Jesus. His birthday became Christmas, although now it's just a holiday for giving gifts."_

_"That makes no sense at all. What is the month of my birthday, then?"_

_"December 25th! We'll have to have a huge party that'll blow this one out of the water!"_

"Chiharu? Are you there?" Rangiku waved a hand in front of her friend's blank face.

"What? Oh! Sorry! I was just thinking."

"Ok. Do you want to stay for the rest of the party? It kinda just started, and more people should be showing up anytime now." As she spoke, several people entered the courtyard. There were three men and one woman, all wearing lietenant armbands matching Rangiku's. "These guys are some of my best friends! I'll introduce you!" They got closer and gave friendly waves to the stranger. "Hey guys! This is my friend, Chiharu. You may have heard about her from your captains. She's currently under Kurotsuchi-taichou's care, so don't give her too hard a time!"

A tall man with red hair that disregarded any of gravity's suggestions extended his hand. "Ya, I've heard of her. Savior of Japan, eh? Nice to meet you! I'm Abarai Renji, the fukutaichou of teh sixth division." Chiharu gripped his forearm with her right hand and put the other on top, a traditional greeting that gave promise of future friendship.

"It is a pleasure to meet you too," she looked up in thought, "Renji." She addressed him by the only name she could remember. After she loosened her grip, he rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, she certainly is friendly," he muttered to Rangiku, referring to Chiharu's lack of using titles.

"She doesn't really understand first and last names or the use of suffixes," Rangiku defended.

The remaining figures introduced themselves as Hisagi Shuhei, the fukutaichou of the 9th division, Izuru Kira, the 3rd division's fukutaichou, and Hinamori Momo, the fukutaichou under the 5th division captain, Aizen Sosuke. Chiharu greeted them all similarly, smiling at her new acquaintances.

"Alright! It's time to open presents!" Rangiku clapped in excitement before rushing to a table buried in colorful bags and boxes. She ripped through them all in a matter of minutes, the newcomers tossing their presents into the gradually shrinking pile. She received an array of gifts, the most common being clothes, treats, sake, and bottles and tubes of unidentifiable substances. After she had exhausted her entire source of gifts, she cheered, "Yay! Thank you everyone for my half birthday presents! Now, you can eat and just hang out!" She chatted up with random guests, playing the hostess between sips of sake. A majority of the party goers were joining Rangiku in drunken stupor, leaving Chiharu alone as she leaned back against a wall. She had been offered a sip of the golden liquid, and it was very much like the fermented drinks she had had before, but it was much stronger and more vile than anything she was used to. Many other officers came and joined the festivities, passing Rangiku a present before eating and drinking their fill. Chiharu noticed one other person in attendance who wasn't under the influence, so she decided to talk with him.

"Good evening, Jushiro. How are you?"

"Hello, Chiharu-san. I'm fine, just came with Kyouraku to drop off Matsumoto-fukutaichou's half-birthday presents."

"That is very kind of you. Is a half birthday really important? Should not one's actual date of birth be more cause for celebration?"

"Well, generally speaking, yes, but Matsumoto likes to make everything big and always wants to have fun. Kyouraku mainly came for the free sake, and I came to look out for him."

"I understand. I feel guilty for not getting her a present, though, for I was not aware that she was having a half-birthday party."

He smiled, "I'm sure it's fine. She'll probably wake up tomorrow not able to remember a thing."

"Jushiro!" exclaimed a blushing Shunsui, a half empty bottle of sake in his hand. He draped his arm over his friend's shoulder. "Isn't this a great party? Here! Have a drink! Live a little!"

Jushiro pushed the man off of him, "No thanks, you know I don't like to drink. And stop acting so drunk. I know you can take more than half a bottle and still be completely lucid."

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head, "You got me there, old friend." He opened his eyes and seemed to just barely notice Chiharu. "Oh, hello Chiharu-chan! I see you're as boring as him and refuse to drink as well?"

"Yes, I do not wish to dull the fun of this party by not partaking in all the celebrations, but I tried this 'sake', and it filled my nostrils with a sharp pain that I do not wish to relive."

"Huh? You don't like sake? How is this possible? Oh, my poor, deprived Chiharu-chan! It's paining my heart just thinking of it!" In one dramatic motion, he brought the bottle to his lips and bent his neck back, emptying the remainder of the liquid down his throat.

Chiharu jumped when something in her robe began buzzing, shaking her with each vibration.

"Imma be on the next level, Imma be rockin' over that bass treble, Imma be chillin' with my mother-in' crew, Imma be makin' all them deals you wanna do. Ha!" A female voice whined from Chiharu's pocket. She pulled out the phone which revealed itself to be the source of not only the music, but also the vibrations.

"Imma be Imma be Imma Imma Imma be. Imma be Imma be Imma Imma Imma be. Imma be Imma be Imma Imma Imma be."

Jushiro laughed, "That's an interesting ringtone you've got there!"

"Mayuri said something about 'hiptones dot com', though I do not know what a tone is, exactly. The music soon stopped and started over as Chiharu did whatever she could to stop the odd noises and movements, even slapping it violently with her fist. Jushiro took it from her hand gently, the unexpected touch leaving a phantom sensation even as he tooke his hand away from her skin and opened the phone.

"Moshi moshi? Hello Kurotsuchi-taichou! This is Ukitake-taichou. Yes, Chiharu was having trouble answering the phone. Here, I'll put her on," he returned the Soul Phone, instructing Chiharu on how to hold it properly.

"Chiharu?" Mayuri's voice cut in from the device. She winced at the loudness of the sound, which was almost exactly like speaking with Mayuri in person.

"Mayuri! Are you there? What is this? How can I hear you?" She looked around, and shook the phone several times. "I do not see you nearby. Are you _in_ this little box? I do not see you on the beach, though, either."

"Chiharu! Stop! This phone uses satellite technology to transmit my voice to your phone, and vice versa. Now, where are you?"

"Satellite? Well, I am at the tenth division barracks, Rangiku is holding a half-birthday party. I am standing with Jushiro and Shunsui—well, Shunsui is on the ground, actually_. _Why? Is something the matter?"

"No, but it's getting late. You should come back home now."

"But, it has not even been half an hour since I left. I thought you wanted to relax by yourself."

"Well, I don't want you hanging around with a bunch of drunk men, so just get back here."

Chiharu found her eyes widening at the harsh tone, but recognized another emotions behind his words that reminded her of the tone her father had sometime taken when reprimanding her. "Mayuri? Are you _worried_ about me?"

"What? No! Of course not! Tch. Stupid girl. Just get back now." There was a low beep, and Chiharu looked at the phone confused.

"Mayuri? Mayuri?" Her brow furrowed. "I guess he left."

"What did he say?" Jushiro asked.

"He wants me to go back home. He sounded very worried," she beamed at this fact.

"Alright, may I escort you?" He held out his arm like a true gentleman, which Chiharu set her hand on lightly. They started walking together toward the twelfth division barracks.

"I would appreciate it, thank you. Mayuri had me map out Seireitei, and while I have a general idea of its format, I am sure that I am still capable of becoming lost, especially at night."

"Mayuri has very odd training methods that's for sure. But, you're going to become a Shinigami?"

"Yes. That is the main purpose for my training. We have already worked on zanpakuto training, and I was able to summon my shikai. Mayuri also is going to teach me about the times and how to read and write. I will have a lot of catching up to do, but I am very eager to learn about what has happened and in how many different ways the world has advanced."

"It's great to keep an open mind when going into something new. What's your zanpakuto's name?"

"Tomatsukuma. It becomes a beautiful spear when released, and Mayuri speculated that it is mainly a weapon for self-defense, and so far he has proved to be correct."

"That's incredible that you've learned its name with so little training. And I wouldn't be surprised if Kurotsuchi-taichou was right—he normally is—for the zanpakuto spirit is normally a representation of its wielder, and you hardly seem like a battle hungry warrior. You'll find that most Shinigami are peace lovers who will only fight when necessary, and rarely to the death.

She nodded, "That is a relief. There will only be more war if there is no one who strives to bring about peace."

He also nodded, then was silent for several minutes. He finally spoke up, "So, earlier you said that Kurotsuchi-taichou wanted you back home. Do you consider those barracks your home now? I mean to say, have you accepted this new life?"

"I believe I have. The years with Nobu could hardly be called a life, and that forest was not a home to me. I know that my village and my people are gone, though their blood still lives on in many people today. If I do not take this life as my own, I fear that I will not have another. Besides, Mayuri is not so bad. He is very kind, and he only wanted me to return in order to avoid any drunken men. In so short a time, I have made many friends, and Mayuri has protected me as any father would."

Ukitake eyes widened slightly when she referred to Mayuri as her father figure, but softened just as quickly. Chiharu had a unique way of looking at life earned through her experience, and how she lived it made her very approachable and quick to open up to. It's no surprise that she was able to do what no one else had before—change Mayuri into someone able to show love and friendship. In less than two days, she had befriended many highly ranked officers, several of them captains, and had made herself an unforgettable figure in everyone's lives. Just thinking about it made him realize how important and influential she was to many Shinigami. If anything threatened her, there would be many willing to fight for her, including himself. She was a sweet, young, girl, and even though she was older than him, she didn't appear a day over 20. Looking at her now, Ukitake couldn't help but notice that she was quite beautiful. She was about 4 inches shorter than him, pretty tall compared to most women. Her orange hair was straight as it flowed down her back, ending in a gentle curly-cue below her shoulder blades. Her bangs framed her face on either side, with one large portion of hair curled between her eyes. Her eyes—were probably her most striking feature. Set against a high brow and subtly strong cheekbones, they shone a deep, chocolatey brown no matter her expression. They were large and bright with curiosity most often found in younger children, though instead of making her seem young and naive, they implied that though she had been through a lot, she had retained her innocence and still looked to the world with a positive hope. These distinctive orbs were framed by long, black lashes, one of which were resting on her cheek as Ukitake regarded her features. All of Chiharu's skin was tanned, though not the over-done shade that many modern women seek to acheive. It was more of a sun-kissed glow, with tiny spots dotting her nose that were darker than the rest of her skin. Her beauty was simple and understated, and one would probably only notice if they truly looked. It reminded him of a sunset on an autumn's evening—completely natural and majestic in its strength and resiliency.

His thoughts were interrupted when they object of his study stopped. "We are here, Jushiro. Thank you very much for accompanying me home." She bowed, releasing her hand from his arm. As she walked into her adopted father's home, Ukitake couldn't help but notice the slight tingle he felt where she has touched him, which only increased in magnitude when she spoke his name. Even now, as she waved to him from the door, he could feel her soft touch through his robes.

"Chiharu!" he called out.

She turned, "Yes?"

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I shall be in the library for most of the day." She returned and stood in front of him, handing him her Soul Phone. "Mayuri said I could 'call' anyone for I have their 'number', but I do not know what that means, so if you can find a way to put my phone's data into yours, you could later find me if need be."

Ukitake laughed inwardly, _This is an odd way to say 'call me', but it'll do._ He pressed a few buttons in her menu to find the display for her phone's number, which he entered into his own Soul Phone and saved to his contacts. He placed her phone back into her outstretched hand.

"Okay. Maybe we can..." he felt incredibly awkward all of a sudden, even though he had been perfectly capable of speaking with Chiharu freely. "meet up tomorrow and do something?"

"That would be nice. I will possibly see you tomorrow then?"

"Sure, I'll call you." After showing Chiharu how to open her phone properly, he waved and flash stepped back to his division. Even though their conversation seemed innocent enough, Chiharu had this feeling that the exchange of Soul Phone data was somehow... intimate.

_"Haha! You totally got some digits! Well, gave some digits!"_

_"Tomatsukuma? What do you mean? Do you know the way of Soul Phones?"_

_"Of course! While you were with Nobu and unaware of me, I was asleep, but, like I said, totally able to watch stuff. Sometimes, I'd extend my viewing range, so I know all about modern technologies! And, as you'll learn, I have a type of... affinity for electronics. But, better get inside, no?"_

Chiharu shrugged at her zanpakutou's somewhat vague hints, but followed his suggestion and went inside. She retreated to her room, and lay in her bed—which had somehow replaced the blanket from the previous night. It was so soft, and there were fresh, cool pillows which prompted her to fall asleep quickly and soundly, a deep sleep that refreshed her body and prevented memory of the night's dreams.

Mayuri opened Chiharu's door to find her already asleep, still in her Shinigami robes, even after he had made someone round up new pajamas and place them on her new bed. He didn't really know why he was being so nice, but he suddenly felt very protective of Chiharu, especially after he had seen Ukitake-taichou practically groping her hand and raping her phone of her number! He glared. He certainly didn't want anyone making advances toward his daugher. As he went to his room, he didn't even think it odd that he had called her his daughter.

* * *

**Yay! Mayuri's a creep... haha! So, this chapter took me forever to write, probably 'cause it was so boring! DX ugh, so sorry! I'm an awful updater! But, there was a bit of Juharu action, ne? ne? *eyebrow waggle* Let's just hope Mayuri don't ruin the love! Join us next time, maybe tomorrow (lol doubt it), maybe next week (a bit more likely), maybe next year (hm... who knows?) for the next chapter... THE LIBRARY! :O now that's exciting! and, we even got a wee hint about Tomatsukuma's powuhs! Any guesses? :] hehe, I just love Mayuri. He's such a freak, so it's fun to make him a bit more loveable! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

It had been several hours since Chiharu, joined by Rin on Mayuri's orders, had first entered the library. Ther building was located on 12th division grounds only for convenience to the many researchers in that squad. Since the beginning of her day of study, Chiharu had been making the young man read various tomes of all shapes and sizes on science and biology. It was amazing to her to learn that things that had seemed so mundane such as breathing involved many complicated steps and unseen organs nesting within her. She paid special attention to studies on DNA and diseases, and picked up on the topic quickly. Imagining cells and molecules she couldn't see was becoming difficult for her mind, however, so she asked Rin for help.

"Rin, is there any way that one could look at the actual inner workings of the human body? Or the cells that are responsible for all of the functions?"

"Sure, we have microscopes back in the lab, and Mayuri would be eager to dissect a body for the purpose of teaching you, I'm sure."

"Alright, we shall head back then. My mind seems filled to the brim with new knowledge, and I wish for a break."

He was slightly alarmed at how willing the woman was to engage in dissection, but he replied with a bow, "Yes, Chiharu-sama."

"Why are you being so formal? We are friends, are we not? And, you are mispronouncing my name; it's Chiharu, not Chiharusama."

He laughed nervously, "N-n-no! I mean, yes, we are friends, but you are a sort of celebrity here, you know, savior of Japan and all. And 'sama' is a title of respect."

"I do not understand, but I appreciate your respect."

"Oh, well, I'm probably not the best to explain it either," he shrugged while returning books to the shelves. Chiharu recalled the useful information in one with a red cover that dealt specifically with DNA proteins. She snatched it up before Rin set it in its rightful place.

"I will take this back with us. It seemed very enlightening."

"Oh, well, even though it's a library, you're not supposed to take the books out."

"But I would like to take it and have Mayuri read something from it."

"B-but, it's against the rules!"

"Rin," her tone was threatening. "I am going to take this book with me, and you are not going to tell anyone."

His eyes widened, "Yes, Chiharu-sama!"

"Good," she said with a smile.

As the brown-haired man—who shall be called a man though he scarcely resembles a matured male, in fact, he could be considered by some to be a girl—sighed in exasperation, he led Chiharu from the library and back to the 12th squad barracks. They had began their search for information early in the day, so it was not even noon when they arrived.

"Mayuri!" Chiharu practically sang as she entered the lab.

The scientist, busy tinkering with a large machine, started at the noise. He sat up quickly from his reclining position and managed to hit his head on the belly of the device.

He cried out a series of angry words which Chiharu could not understand. Confused, she went over to Mayuri who was bleeding from a large gash cutting across his forehead.

"Oh! Mayuri! I am sorry for alarming you. Here," with one swift motion, she tore off a piece of her Shihakusho's right sleeve, revealing her leather and bone adornments to still be in place, and kneeled by her new father. Gently, she placed the strip to his wound. She elevated his head on her lap as she continued applying pressure to his injury.

"Thanks," he mumbled after several awkward moments.

"You are most welcome. And again, I am sorry for causing this. But, I was excited. Rin and I have been studying, as you know, and I heard something interesting while he was reading from this book," she spoke quickly and ended by handing Mayuri the aforementioned red text.

"History of Deoxyribonucleic Acid and Proteins?" Mayuri sighed dreamily, an unexpected noise not only to Chiharu's ears, but to Rin's as well, who had been standing and watching everything unfold. He continued, "Did you read the chapter about Thymine? Purely inspiring."

"I regret that we did not. While this is all very new to me, I think I may have a vague idea. Every body has systems and organs which are made of cells. These little compartments have even smaller pockets within them, along with DNA. The DNA is like a code, which is translated into proteins, which form the cell and perform all the bodily functions. There are single celled bacteria in the world which exist to multiply by taking using a host's resources. The tuberculosis bacteria sometimes, when treated by antibiotics, mutates and forms an impenetrable protein coat, which is why Jushiro's disease is hard to treat. Am I correct so far?"

Mayuri blinked, "Um, yes you are. You got all that in four hours?"

"And, I looked at this drawing of his specific mutated bacteria." She pulled out a manila folder that contained all the basic health information on Ukitake-taichou's condition and turned to a blown up image of the guilty cell. She ran her finger over the gray dots outside the main body. "These are the defensive proteins?"

"Yes, globular glycoproteins spikes."

"And if we were to get rid of these, then we could administer the antibiotics?"

"Well, kinda. You see, we'd have to get Unohana's permission, and I highly doubt she'd let us, even with sound evidence that it would work. Of course, I was planning on working around her anyway; it'd be hard enough trying to sneak Ukitake a pill, but since the bacteria are in his lungs, for the quickest and most effective treatment, a inhalable gas would be best. I'm still trying to work out how we'd do that, but it would do nothing with that glycoprotein coat in the way."

She nodded, "Well, I do not know if this is possible, but could we somehow forcibly denature the protein spikes?"

"Not by the regular means of denaturation, it would harm all nearby proteins in Ukitake's lungs, and may hurt him worse than the bacteria."

"What if you made a little cell of your own specially designed to destroy the proteins."

Mayuri laughed, which sounded more like a cackle. He pushed Chiharu's hand from his head, which by now had ceased bleeding. He stood up and began typing away at his computer while Chiharu stood beside him. "Well, things just aren't that simple, even for someone like me. I can't just go and poof up a little phage that digests proteins by breaking the amino acid chain, thus ruining the primary structure of the protein and all subsequent structure levels, denaturing the protein completely. But, glycoproteins are proteins attached by sugars... Now, that's a different story." His typing speed picked up with a sudden intensity as he murmured various things about sugars and nucleotides.

"Mayuri? Do you have an idea?"

"Of course, now shut up, girl, I'm thinking." He hit one last button and looked up at the screen. It showed a cell,small and simple, only containing a nucleus and many lysosomes. "I can make gigai from scratch, so a few cells should be no problem. By altering the nucleotide sequence of a simple bacterial phage, I can transform it and it can multiply into a mass of sugar eating cells, which will ingest the sugars connecting the proteins to the plasma membrane, detaching them and leaving the mycobacterium vulnerable! I can't believe I hadn't thought of this before!"

"So, we are getting somewhere?"

"Yes. I had never looked at it like this; most of the time when you have a glycoprotein spike, you try to disassemble the protein, but disconnecting it will have the same effect! Then, the host's body can reuse the proteins in day to day functions, a bonus, really. But..." Mayuri trailed off as he moved the computer mouse, causing the image to rotate on the screen.

"But what? Can we help Jushiro?"

"Of course, but it would make my life a whole lot easier if I knew _exactly _what kind of sugar is connecting the protein to the membrane. If I had that, I could make this phage only able to attack the sugar, and not any other important parts of Ukitake's respiratory and circulatory systems."

"Could I help?"

"If you have Ukitake's lung on you, then yes. I need a sample of the bacteria, just a simple scrape off of his lungs would work, but of course I'd have to, you know, cut him open and stuff. Phlegm or mucus would work, preferebly a bit with blood he hacks up during one of his fits."

"I could get that for you."

Mayuri looked at her oddly. "You want to help by collecting bloody phlegm...?"

She nodded enthusiastically, to which Mayuri sighed.

"Alright then, I'm not sure how you'll do it, but get him to have a fit, just a little one. Cover his mouth with this," he pulled out a pristine, white cloth from a drawer below the syringes and needles and handed it to Chiharu. "Try not to touch it too much, it's a Germ-B-Gone brand cloth that will guarantee that the sample I get is pure Ukitake mucus, and no other crap." He visibly shuddered. "God, mucus collecting—I'm a genius for Pete's sake! Forced to resort to behind the back tactics because of Unohana. Well, I'll show her when I cure Ukitake!"

"Um, Mayuri? You are rambling."

"Hm? Oh, yes, well, just keep that in your pocket for now and germ it up, then pull it out when the time comes, got it?"

She complied and deposited the now folded napkin in her robe pocket. "Yes. But, how will I make Jushiro cough? I do not wish to hurt him intentionally."

"Just hang around with him—as much as I don't want you around _him—_and wait for him to have a fit, it'll happen eventually."

"Alright, I will head to his barracks now, if that is okay with you."

"Fine, just don't let him too close to you or anything crafty like that."

"Um," Rin finally spoke up. "Am I needed anymore, Kurotsuchi-taichou?"

"No, young lady, you may get back to your work."

"I'm a man, sir."

"Oh? I didn't even notice. No wonder those experiments failed on you..."

"When did you experiment on me, besided initiation?" the feminine man asked, shocked.

"That's on a need to know basis. Now, off you go Chiharu. I will call you in a few hours to check up on you if you take that long. Once you get the stuff, come back immediately, got it?"

"I understand. Goodbye for now Mayuri, Rin." With a wave, she left the lab and headed to the squad 13 barracks. Due to its location adjacent to the 12th division, she arrived there in less than half an hour. The main building stood tall and strong above the many other structures, its height setting it apart in status from its lowly neighbors. She entered and tried to find a familiar face amid the hustle and bustle of squad members scurrying to and fro with stacks of papers clutched in their sweating palms. Amidst the chaos, Chiharu was able to detect a calm, powerful reiatsu, which she assumed to be Jushiro. She followed the tingling sense and soon found herself outside the captain's office. She rapped her knuckles on the door three times and was met with a soft, "Come in."

She slid the door open to reveal Jushiro and Shunsui sitting at a table drinking tea. Well, Jushiro was drinking tea while a blushing Shunsui was seen clutching a bottle of sake. The white-haired man stood when his friend entered.

"Welcome, Chiharu. To what do I owe this visit?"

Chiharu's mind went blank. She hadn't really thought of a story for why she was hear, and she couldn't exactly say, "I'm here to collect your bloody lung juice so that Mayuri can make a cell that we will inject into your body without Retsu's permission." She covered with a swift and vague, "I am just here to visit you. There is no particular reason."

He nodded, "Alright, well, let me get you some tea." He left the room and returned momentarily with a white tea cup and saucer matching his already placed on the table. "Please, sit," he motioned to a plush pillow across from him and to the left of Shunsui, who just barely recognized Chiharu's presence.

"Hey! Chi-chan! How are ya?" He smiled, then continued, "Hey. What happened to your shihakusho? And, are you a shinigami?"

"I was just about to ask that," Jushiro stated before pouring some steaming tea into her cup.

"Oh, well, Mayuri hit his head so I tore off a piece of my sleeve for the bleeding. And no, I'm not a shinigami yet, but these were just some uniforms in the barracks that Mayuri brought me."

"Hm," was all Shunsui replied before he dozed off.

Not quite sure what to talk about with Jushiro, Chiharu swallowed some of her tea, burning her mouth and throat in the process. She coughed and took deep breaths, hoping the cool air would soothe the pain, which subsided in a few moments. Jushiro was laughing though he stopped and looked concerned, though a smile was still clear on his face. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just did not expect it to be so hot."

"Didn't you see the steam?"

Chiharu didn't reply, which made Jushiro laugh again. This time, though, she laughed along with him.

"So, did you go to the library today?" He asked a few minutes later.

She nodded, "Rin came with me and read the books. It was very interesting."

"What did you study?"

"Just... science and biology." She didn't want to tell Jushiro that she wanted to help with his disease. Though she was inexperience with men, she knew that they didn't appreciate being pitied or feeling helpless, and that telling him she was going to aid him with his treatment would damage his "man pride."

"Mayuri getting to you, then?"

"Well, it's actually very interesting. I learned a lot about cells and the genetic code and diseases—" Chiharu winced when she spoke the last word, though Jushiro paid no mind to it.

"Do you want to become a scientist in the Institute after you become a shinigami? Or perhaps a medical specialist?"

"I am not sure. I would prefer to be with my father when the time comes, as I have much to learn, and what better way to learn than through the sciences?" It took a while for him to remember that Mayuri was her dad now, unofficially of course, but official to both concerned parties.

"That makes sense. Oh, and I would like to apologize for Shunsui, he hasn't really been conscious much since you've met. He's really a nice guy, he just enjoys his sake a bit too much. He's actually been having some trouble recently..."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Oh, nothing too serious. He's just upset that his lieutenant won't return his feelings."

"Feelings? Is he trying to court her?"

"You could say that. He just constantly flirts to which she responds by hitting him over the head with a book."

"It does not sound as if she wishes to be courted."

He laughed, "Good luck telling him that. He's pretty stubborn when it comes to what he wants."

Both took sips of their tea during the brief moments of silence. Finally, Jushiro set down his cup and cleared his throat. Chiharu looked up, ready to whip out her cough collection cloth at a moment's notice. But, Jushiro did not proceed to have a fit; instead, he spoke. "Chiharu, I was wondering, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" He rushed his sentence, and was red in the face, though Chiharu was unsure why he would be embarrassed about a simple invitation to eat.

"Food? Sure. But, maybe you should check yourself first—you may be running a fever."

He couldn't help but laugh, knowing that he was blushing and happy that she mistook it for sickness. However, his laughter soon morphed into a painful fit which sent his body into convulsions with each cough. His lungs felt as if they were aflame, while being pierced by thousands of glass shards. He had once compared it to being subjected to Kuchiki-taichou's Senbonzakura Kageyoshi from the inside. Chiharu rushed to his side and place a small napkin in his hand. He nodded a thanks then continued, expelling blood and mucus. By now, the commotion had woken Shunsui, who sat up and laid a supportive hand on Jushiro's back. Finally, he stopped, and his carefree expression was replace with a stressed one. His brow was slightly shiny from sweat, and his breathing was haggard.

"I'm sorry about that, Chiharu," he said meekly.

"It is not your fault, Jushiro," she said while taking the cloth from his hand. She folded it and wiped off a small spot of crimson from his chin, then stood. "I must be going now, but I will be back for dinner, Jushiro." Shunsui raised a brow at this. She walked toward the door, but stopped before leaving and turned. "Shunsui, how about you and your fukutaichou join us?"

"A double date? Sure!" He grinned, while an annoyed Ukitake glared at his old friend. Chiharu nodded, though she had no idea what a "double date" was, then left.

"So, I'm out for ten minutes and Jushiro's got himself a date!" Shunsui whistled while nudging his friend, who was starting to recover from his recent symptoms.

"I do not think it's really a date. Chiharu just thought I was inviting her out for food."

"Well, isn't that what you're doing?"

"Yes, but, it's not quite the same. The implications aren't as romantic as an actual date. Especially if you're going to be there."

"Aw, did I ruin your potentials wooings of the fair Chiharu?"

Jushiro rolled his eyes, "She's just a friend."

"I'm your friend, and you've never wished to romantically take me to dinner!"

"For one, you're a man, and two, it's not romantic in any way."

Shunsui pouted, then smiled, "Well, Nanao-chan and I will just have to amp up the romance to make up for your boring, dinner plans."

"I don't know if 'your Nanao-chan' will even agree to go with you."

"She will. Trust me," his tone was dangerous, but then resumed its airy quality as he continued, "You know, you and Chiharu would make a nice couple. Even though she's a bit young, don't you think?"

"Don't you remember her story? She's probably older than you and me."

"Ah, so you like the cougars. I understand. There's something about matured women—" Shunsui was cut off when Jushiro flicked his forehead. "Ow! What was that for? Anyway, she seems nice, she was so concerned at the fourth squad barracks about your illness. She seemed quite determined to help you out. Better watch out for Mayuri though."

Jushiro sat silent, contemplating this new bit of information. _So, that's why she was studying biology: to help me. I wonder why she didn't tell me? Although, it's probably better she didn't. I don't especially want her pity, or for her to befriend me only to be my nurse,_ he thought, slightly bitter. But, regardless of her intentions, he knew that he wanted to know Chiharu better, so he stood and left Shunsui behind in order to make dinner reservations for four, though he sorely hoped that things would work in his favor and only two would be in attendance.

* * *

**Hola! Chapitre Huit! Up and running, haha! This one's kind of uneventful, but look! A date! :D Even though our heroine is completely clueless about the romantic elements! Hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the somewhat shortness! The end is rushed 'cause my dad's yelling at me to go to bed, and I want to publish this tonight! So, anyway, tune in next week for... THE DOUBLE DATE! :O Oh, and sorry for any biological info mistakes. I took AP Bio (5 on the exam, baby!) but that was before summer, so my brain's mush now. :P**


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